Evaluation of the sustainability of swine manure fertilization in orchard through Ecological Footprint Analysis: results from a case study in Italy

Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA) is an environmental accounting system, in physical unit, able to quantify the total amount of ecosystem resources required by a region or by a production process. This methodology is both scientifically robust and widely diffused for territorial and productive analysis. The application of EFA to agricultural systems are still uncommon and examples in the fruit sector rare.In this work a detailed application of EFA to an experimental trial in a commercial nectarine orchard in Piedmont (Italy) is presented. The field trial is focused on the evaluation of agronomical benefit of various kinds of swine manure for fertilizing orchards. Four productive systems were established from 2008: liquid slurry (LS), covered slurry (CS), solid fraction (SF), mineral nutrition (MN). All the environmental impacts of the four systems were quantified both directly on field and with extrapolations from farmer knowledge. As previous studies suggested, we considered not only the one-year field operations, but also the whole lifetime of the orchard. The environmental costs of each system are presented and related to each other on the basis of their relative footprint value.Results highlight almost the same ecological footprint for the three manure fertilized systems (LS, CS and SF) with average of 0.96 gha t⁻¹) and the highest ecological footprint can be found in the MN system (1.14 gha t⁻¹). Interesting remarks can be done comparing the contributions to the ecological footprint of the field operations related to fertilization in the four systems. In the manure fertilized systems the fertilizer contribution goes from 0.9% to 1.2% of the total ecological footprint; but in the MN system the fertilizer contribution is 6.6% of the total ecological footprint. Results support the hypothesis that internal recycle and connections among different systems increasingly resulted in high system benefit and sustainability.     

Emergy as a tool for Ecodesign: evaluating materials selection for beverage packages in Brazil

The life of a product begins with the initial product design concepts; the costs and potential impacts of a product are heavily influenced by the final design, the production processes, the economic and environmental costs of all raw materials. Additionally, both of these factors are very much affected by how the products are managed during and after consumer usage. Thus, there is an urgent need for a tool to facilitate the integration and assessment of environmental and economic demands into the product planning and development processes. The introduction of environmental accounting based on emergy as a tool to assist in product design is proposed. This complementary tool may be inserted into the conventional design methodology to facilitate in the selection of materials and processes as well as in the actual design of the products. To illustrate the application of the proposed method for material selection, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles and aluminum cans for beverage packaging are compared. Despite the exceptional condition of aluminum recycling in Brazil, results show that the best option for beverage packages is the PET bottles.     

工业产品生命周期环境成本评估方法初探

产品环境成本内在化是解决其环境问题的一个重要经济手段。生命周期评价方法和传统的会计制度都不能提供产品的环境成本信息。而目前逐渐兴起的环境会计制度也多关注与产品生产直拉相关的环境成本，缺乏全过程的思想，要真正满足可持续发展的需要，就必须开发适于其生命周期环境成本评估的方法。文章在介绍传统的成本划分方法基础上，提出了生命周期环境成本的概念及其评估方法。     

Application of a comparative multidimensional life cycle analysis in solid waste management policy: the case of soft drink containers

The paper describes the application of a multidimensional life cycle analysis (LCA) for packaging soft drinks in Israel. The suggested approach combines the conventional product LCA, vertical summation of all environmental burdens along the chain of production, use and disposal activities, and horizontal comparison of different products and disposal options, such as recycling, incineration or landfilling. The paper attempts to show that the most effective, as well as transparent, means of comparing packaging alternatives, is to place them on a commensurate basis, the most appropriate one being a monetary basis. Taking into account limitations and drawbacks of monetary valuation of non-market assets (namely, environmental assets), the study derived estimates of environmental benefits and damages associated with each alternative. The production of soft drinks containers in Israel, used here as an example for the above mentioned considerations, is based mainly on imported materials, since natural resources such as oil or bauxite do not exist in Israel. Locally, only direct production and pollution abatement costs are incorporated in the final bill, while global environmental burdens are excluded. Countries extracting and producing raw material for the packaging industry, in effect, grant an environmental subsidy to the final users, in this case — the Israeli user. The paper suggests that only by globalization of externalities and fully internalizing environmental costs into the price of the final product (the packaging material or the packaged product), an equitable full environmental accounting can be designed. This mechanism can be even accompanied by global trading in the relevant environmental credits. Decisions will, consequently, follow a sustainable path, in both importing and exporting countries.     

Life cycle assessment of spray dried soluble coffee and comparison with alternatives (drip filter and capsule espresso)

This paper aims to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with spray dried soluble coffee over its entire life cycle and compare it with drip filter coffee and capsule espresso coffee. It particularly aims to identify critical environmental issues and responsibilities along the whole life cycle chain of spray dried coffee. This life cycle assessment (LCA) specifically uses foreground data obtained directly from coffee manufacturers and suppliers. Aside from energy consumption and greenhouse gases emissions, water footprint is also studied in detail, including regionalization of water impacts based on the ecological scarcity method 2006. Other impact categories are screened using the IMPACT 2002+ impact assessment method.The overall LCA results for a 1 dl cup of spray dried soluble coffee amounts approximately to 1 MJ of primary non-renewable energy consumption, to emissions of 0.07 kg of CO_2-eq, and between 3 and 10 l of non-turbined water use, depending on whether or not the coffee cultivation is irrigated and wet treated. When considering turbined water, use can be up to 400 l of water per cup. Pouch – and to a lesser extent metal can packaging alternatives – show lower environmental burdens than glass or sticks.On average, about one half of the environmental footprint occurs at a life cycle stage under the control of the coffee producer or its suppliers (i.e., during cultivation, treatment, processing, packaging up to distribution, along with advertising) and the other half at a stage controlled by the user (shopping, appliances manufacturing, use and waste disposal). Key environmental parameters of spray dried soluble coffee are the amount of extra water boiled and the efficiency of cup cleaning during use phase, whether the coffee is irrigated or not, as well as the type and amount of fertilizer used in the coffee field. The packaging contributes to 10% of the overall life cycle impacts.Compared to other coffee alternatives, spray dried soluble coffee uses less energy and has a lower environmental footprint than capsule espresso coffee or drip filter coffee, the latter having the highest environmental impacts on a per cup basis. This study shows that a broad LCA approach is needed to help industry to minimize the environmental burdens directly related to their products. Including all processes of the entire system is necessary i) to get a comprehensive environmental footprint of the product system with respect to sustainable production and consumption, ii) to share stakeholders responsibility along the entire product life cycle, and iii) to avoid problem shifting between different life cycle stages.     

基于生命周期评价方法的肉鸡屠宰场碳足迹分析

当今世界畜牧业发展迅速,环境问题亦不可小视,由CO_2、CH_4和N_2O等温室气体导致的全球变暖是热门话题。基于PA-LCA方法追踪某肉鸡屠宰场的碳足迹,找出热点问题,再以敏感性分析探究全生命周期总碳足迹的最敏感输入变量,并提出碳减排建议,最后将运营期碳足迹与其他国家进行比较,为屠宰行业清洁生产和节能减排提供依据。结果表明:在建设期,商品混凝土、预拌砂浆和钢材的生产过程碳足迹分别占建设期总量的30.94%、24.77%和20.04%;在运营期,电力生产过程的碳足迹占运营期总量的93.06%,从企业各部门角度分析,屠宰间和冷库的运营产生48.45%的碳足迹;在报废期,拆除建筑所耗能源的生产过程碳足迹占报废期总量的87.13%。通过敏感性分析,工厂运营1年的电耗对屠宰场全生命周期碳足迹总量的影响不及建设期商品混凝土生产过程对其的影响,但运营10年后,运营期电耗减小可显著降低屠宰场全生命周期碳足迹。我国屠宰场运营期碳足迹同其他国家相比较低,这与我国屠宰自动化程度低有关。所以如何平衡屠宰效率和环境影响是亟待解决的问题。     

农牧交错区农户生态足迹及其影响因素

利用农牧交错区典型区域农户调查数据,从生产和消费两个方面分析了农户生态足迹及其影响因素。研究结果表明：1）农户生产足迹远远高于消费足迹,草地生产足迹和草地消费足迹分别对农户总生产足迹和总消费足迹具有决定作用;2）农户生态足迹,尤其是草地生产足迹和草地消费足迹与收入水平具有显著正相关关系,农户从事非农就业一定程度上降低了对当地自然资源的占用和消耗;3）少数民族户、畜牧业收入占比大、人均牧草地多的农户,虽然耕地生产足迹和耕地消费足迹较小,但总生产足迹和总消费足迹、草地生产足迹和草地消费足迹均较大。基于农牧交错区脆弱生态系统,建议通过完善生态补偿机制、改变农户粗放化的畜牧业生产方式、促进农户非农就业,降低农户对本区域生态系统的压力。     

Environmental management accounting as a reflexive modernization strategy in cleaner production

Understanding the material purchase value of wastes and emissions and related processing costs is the essential contribution of an Environmental Management Accounting methodology proposed by a United Nations expert working group organised through the Division for Sustainable Development (UNDSD). Tracing costs and benefits according to this UNDSD methodology, considered as a “reflexive” modernization strategy in this article, sheds new light on cleaner production initiatives for corporate sustainability. Information on the first category of costs, waste and emission treatment, is generally the most accurate. Information on the second category, prevention and environmental management costs, is more difficult to determine because this category overlaps with, or is confused with, the first category of costs. Data for the two novel and innovative cost categories of the material purchase value of waste and emissions and related processing costs are even harder to obtain. Frequently, the costs are either hidden in overhead accounts or are not recorded because they are not required in conventional accounting systems. The outcome is that companies, even though they may profess otherwise, have very little knowledge about their full environmental costs, cost saving opportunities, or how best to achieve cleaner production initiatives to promote corporate sustainability. A more systematic application of the UNDSD EMA methodology would provide a better record of costs and act as a catalyst in promoting cleaner production processes. This application inevitably requires “reflexive institutions” including “reflexive corporations”, that is, corporations with the capacity to examine the side effects of their operations as modernization rebounds upon them.     

基于EFA的旅游景区生态承载力及可持续发展

生态足迹分析(EFA)是一种测量人类对自然利用程度、量化生态承载力的新方法。为测度旅游景区的建设强度对其开发区域生态承载力的影响,本文提出基于生态足迹的“生态占用率”及划分“生态占用适宜度”的“生态占用黄金分割法”,并以湖北中华山森林公园为实例,定量分析该项目对景区生态承载力的影响及游客规模限量;为旅游业的可持续发展提供了新思路。     

Impact of fertilization on chestnut growth, N and P concentrations in runo water on degraded slope land in South China

Growing fruit trees on the slopes of rolling hills in South China was causing serious environmental problems because of heavy application of chemical fertilizers and soil erosion. Suitable sources of fertilizers and proper rates of applications were of key importance to both crop yields and environmental protection. In this article, the impact of four fertilizers, i.e., inorganic compound fertilizer, organic compound fertilizer, pig manure compost, and peanut cake （peanut oil pressing residue）, on chestnut （Castanea mollissima Blume） growth on a slope in South China, and on the total N and total P concentrations in runoff waters have been investigated during two years of study, with an orthogonal experimental design. Results show that the organic compound fertilizer and peanut cake promote the heights of young chestnut trees compared to the control. In addition, peanut cake increases single-fruit weights and organic compound fertilizer raises single-seed weights. All the fertilizers increased the concentrations of total N and total P in runoff waters, except for organic compound fertilizer, in the first year experiment. The observed mean concentrations of total N varied from 1.6 mg/L to 3.2 mg/L and P from 0.12 mg/L to 0.22 mg/L, which were increased with the amount of fertilizer applications, with no pattern of direct proportion. On the basis of these experiment results, organic compound fertilizer at 2 kg/tree and peanut cake at 1 kg/tree are recommended to maximize chestnut growth and minimize water pollution.     

要素与效率耦合视角下中国人均灰水足迹驱动效应研究

论文系统测度了中国大陆31省区2000—2014年间的人均灰水足迹,首次将生产要素中最关键的资本和劳动力要素引入到人均灰水足迹的驱动效应研究中,同时耦合了传统的环境效率与技术效率因素。应用扩展的Kaya恒等式和LMDI模型,综合分析了上述因素对人均灰水足迹的驱动效应。结果表明：1）从全国范围来看,技术效率效应的减量作用最大,资本产出效应的减量作用近年有所提高,资本深化效应的增量作用最大。2）技术效率效应、资本产出效应和资本深化效应都呈现西北高、东南低的分布格局;河北、北京、天津和山东的环境效率效应和技术效率效应对人均灰水足迹的减量作用较大,其他省区技术效率效应和资本产出效应更有利于人均灰水足迹的降低;资本深化效应在各地都会造成人均灰水足迹的显著提升。     

Review of corporate environmental indicators

This paper reviews a series of environmental indicators developed in the last years that were found suitable to be applied at corporate level for the evaluation of production processes and products. The indicators reviewed in this paper were classified into four main groups: 1) Indicators of Energy and Material Flows; 2) Indicators with a Territorial Dimension; 3) Indicators of Life-Cycle Assessment; 4) Indicators of Environmental Risk Assessment. Integrative and single index indicators such as the ecological footprint or carbon footprint were found as the most appealing for enterprises, although there is a need to advance in the field to combine the simplicity required at corporate level for tracking and reporting environmental data, and the scientific rigor and transparency necessary to make the scores reliable. Hence, for each of the indicators revised it was stated what they do and do not measure so that misleading information was not used for decision making at corporate level.     

Environmental costs at a Canadian paper mill: a case study of Environmental Management Accounting (EMA)

An Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) framework is applied to the 2000 year-end financial report for the Mackenzie Paper Division paper mill owned and operated by Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. of Montreal, Quebec. A conventional reading of the obvious environmental costs from this financial report is Cdn$2,196,838. This figure is derived from an analysis of effluent treatment costs and other line item environmental costs. There is no “environmental account” category that breaks out either costs or the mass balance of inputs and outputs. For the most part, environmental costs are rolled up into overhead accounts such as administration, infrastructure and materials accounts.Application of the EMA framework is based on assigning environmental costs to one of four categories for which a tentative breakdown is as follows: (1) waste and emission treatment costs ($3,348,902); (2) prevention and environmental management costs ($270,109); (3) material purchase value of non-product output costs ($946,799); and (4) processing costs of non-product output ($2 92,943). There is also a category called Environmental Revenues, of which none were reported. Conservative estimates thus place the total environmental costs at $4,858,753.What is significant about this result is that the environmental costs under EMA are at least twice as much as would normally be reported. This supports the view that environmental costs are much higher than generally considered and makes it clear that many important environmental costs as well as benefits are “hidden” in other accounts. More studies of a similar design are required to confirm the validity of the EMA methodology reported here.     

2020年中国区域及省级电网电力碳足迹研究

电力碳排放的数据质量取决于电网排放因子的准确性。为了获得用于产品碳足迹计算的电网电力碳足迹排放因子,基于电网排放因子数据和计算方法,将核算范围扩展到电力上游的燃料开采与生产、发电设施建设与退役以及电力生产过程,考虑CO₂、CH₄、N₂O等温室气体排放,得到2020年中国区域及省级的电网电力碳足迹排放因子。结果表明：华北地区排放因子最高(1.005 t CO₂e/MW·h),南方地区排放因子最低(0.470 t CO₂e/MW·h),可再生能源占比高的省份排放因子低,全国排放因子显著降低。研究得到的电网电力碳足迹排放因子可为电力碳排放计算提供参考,建议在计算产品碳足迹时优先使用。     

农业生态系统中杂草资源的可持续利用

杂草是农业生态系统中对农作物的生长和产量产生重要影响的伴生植物。杂草具有耐不良环境、生长快、繁殖力强等优良特性,是重要的生物资源。可利用杂草的优良基因作为农作物遗传改良的基因供体,利用其有用成分开发中医药,利用植物他感效应进行害虫生物防治,可开发成观赏植物,可作为先锋物种进行生态恢复、改良环境、促进养分循环、保护土壤微生物等。杂草的化学防除是导致杂草资源丧失的重要因素,寻找既利于杂草资源保护又不影响农作物生长的防除途径、杂草资源数据库的创建、杂草资源有益基因的发掘和开发利用,是杂草科学今后应加强的研究方向。     

氮足迹模型应用进展研究

氮足迹是一个评估人类活动活性氮排放量的指标,能够定量人类生产、生活各个环节的活性氮排放,进而指导个人消费和食品生产方式的转变,最终达到降低活性氮排放和提高环境质量的目的.氮足迹模型是定量不同实体氮足迹关键,也是当前氮足迹研究的热点所在.本文综述了应用于个人、食品、机构、事件的氮足迹模型;探讨了氮足迹的不确定性以及优化措施;流域氮足迹,产品氮足迹以及建立生态足迹数据库等将成为未来的研究热点.     

The use of Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) for identifying environmental costs

The Expert Working Group on “Improving the Role of Government in the Promotion of Environmental Management Accounting (EMA)” was set up by the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development (UN DSD) in cooperation with a number of government agencies and non-governmental experts to promote Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) through publications, pilot projects and by establishing an international forum for discussion on the role of governments in the promotion of EMA.EMA, Environmental management accounting represents a combined approach that provides for the transition of data from financial accounting, cost accounting and mass balances to increase material efficiency, reduce environmental impacts and risks and reduce costs of environmental protection. EMA is performed by private or public corporations, but not by nations and has a financial as well as a physical component.The core focus of environmental management accounting and of the EMA UN DSD methodology is assessment of total annual environmental expenditure on emission treatment, disposal, environmental protection and management. In addition, and that is new and challenging for most companies, the material purchase value of all non-product output and its production costs are added. This total sum often provides a frightening picture of total annual costs of inefficiency and gets companies to improve their information systems and material efficiency options, which is the goal in the light of cleaner production.The first book published by the Expert Working Group, Environmental Management Accounting—Procedures and Principles (Jasch, C., United Nations, New York, 2001), defines principles and procedures for EMA, with a focus on techniques for quantifying environmental expenditures or costs, as a basis for better controlling and benchmarking purposes. The methodology excludes costs external to the company (so-called externalities, e.g. environmental and social effects that occur to the general public), but focuses on comprehensive assessment of direct annual expenditure on emission treatment, environmental protection and management as well as wasted material and energy input (efficiency losses in production). Firstly, total annual expenditure is assessed, then improvement options, savings and investment projects as well as product prices can be (re-)calculated. The method is currently applied in several case studies. The following summary provides some of the core definitions and generic assessment tables.     

果园土壤有机氯农药残留的时间趋势研究

以天然荒地和蔬菜基地作为对照 ,于 1993年和 2 0 0 3年对北京市某果园中具有不同树龄的老果园和新果园的土壤有机氯农药 (HCH ,DDT)残留情况进行了定位监测 .结果表明 ,在禁用 2 0年后 ,土壤中的有机氯农药残留水平大幅度降低 ,其中老果园的有机氯农药残留浓度显著高于新果园 (P <0 0 5 ) .果园土壤有机氯残留浓度显著高于荒地和蔬菜基地对照 (P <0 0 5 ) .DDT是当地主要的有机氯污染物 ,利用绿色食品生产基地环境质量标准作为评价标准对该果园土壤的污染程度进行了评估 .评估结果表明 ,新果园的土壤质量能够满足绿色食品生产的要求 ,老果园由于土壤中DDT和HCH残留超标严重不适合作为绿色食品生产基地     

How to perform an environmental management cost assessment in one day

The article provides definitions for environmental accounting and environmental management accounting based on the approach developed for the United Nations Division of Sustainable Development UN DSD/DESA. It presents the basic framework for assessing corporate environmental costs as well as materials flows (including energy and water) and their costs. The paper is based on experiences from applying the UN DSD EMA framework in company workshops and case studies mainly in Austria. It especially describes how to check for data consistency within different information systems, like the list of accounts, stock management, production planning and process engineering. Common hurdles for obtaining data from different information systems are described and solutions for improved consistency of data in an organization are presented. It provides a detailed example of an assessment in a brewery in the excel tool developed to assist in the application of the UN DSD EMA approach.     

我国煤炭环境外部成本的经济核算

基于产品生命周期理论,构建煤炭环境外部成本核算框架,采用环境价值评估方法,对煤炭生产、运输及利用环节环境成本实物量及价值量进行核算,最后得到煤炭的环境外部成本,以2010年为核算基准年,得到煤炭在生产、运输和使用环节中产生的环境外部成本分别为2185.95亿元、631.18亿元及2655.37亿元,吨煤成本为67.78,44.68,85.04,总环境外部成本为5472.50亿元,吨煤成本为197.40元.