An exploration of the potential for re-distributed manufacturing to contribute to a sustainable,resilient city*

Abstract

Re-distributed manufacturing (RDM), broadly described as manufacturing done at a smaller-scale and locally, could be beneficial to business and urban society through creating jobs, reducing the environmental impacts of production, and improving resilience to future disturbances. Consideration of RDM within a city-region requires the consideration of a wide range of issues – societal, technical, economic and environmental. This paper presents the results of a study into the potential for RDM to contribute to a sustainable, resilient city in the face of a range of expected future disturbances on the city and on manufacturing sectors. The study took an integrated assessment approach which incorporated the development of a conceptual framework; a ‘strawman’ causal loop diagram which was reviewed by participants in a workshop; and a stock and flow system dynamics model that represents our understanding about the structure and behaviour of urban manufacturing. Several key themes emerged: similarities between RDM and traditional manufacturing, availability of physical space for RDM to be done, achieving urban resilience through RDM by enabling responsiveness to disturbances, changes in environmental impacts from production, additions or losses in jobs, the competitiveness of local manufacturing, and skills and innovation for RDM technologies. Further work is recommended.     

Environmental innovation activities and patenting: Germany reconsidered

This paper provides new econometric evidence on the determinants of eco-innovations by using multiple innovation indicators and by combining survey-based information and patent records at the firm level from two different time periods. We hypothesize that firms with a propensity to patent focus on future technological and market opportunities and do not directly or immediately react to incentives created by environmental policies. Based on negative binomial models, we confirm that eco-patents are stimulated by the expectation of creating technological advancement and new market opportunities. By contrast, energy cost savings can better or more easily be achieved when firms refrain from patenting and concentrate on non-patented innovations or adoption. Favorable framework conditions created by environmental policies and patent protection are also important for eco-patenting, but more in the longer term. Testing the validity of using self-reported eco-innovations, instead of patents, as the dependent variable in simple binomial probit models reveals that product eco-innovations as reported in the surveys are a relatively good proxy for eco-patents. Yet, for product eco-innovations, serving and enlarging current markets is another important reason to innovate.     

论装备综合保障中的使用保障和维修保障——以某地面通信方舱系统为例

介绍装备综合保障中的使用保障和维修保障,并以某型通信方舱系统为例,介绍了构建装备使用保障参数体系和维修保障参数体系的思路和方法,最后对使用保障/维修保障和正常/非正常操作使用之间的关系进行了思考,为装备的保障工作提供了一些实际的借鉴。     

矿产资源资产负债表编制技术框架初探

矿产资源资产负债表编制技术框架的探讨对于推进我国不可再生资源资产负债表编制技术的形成、指导我国不可再生资源的科学开发并落实自然资源资产离任审计制度有着明确的实际意义。本文在国际通用的环境与经济综合核算体系的基础上,探索性的提出了矿产资源资产负债表的编制技术框架(以下简称框架)。该框架以实现国家矿产资源资产摸底和官员环境绩效评估为目标,函括了矿产资源资产负债表的编制原则,资产负债表的会计主体、会计要素、相关交易和事项的具体指向,资产负债表的实物量账户和价值量账户的内容和归类,矿产资源资产负债表的具体编制流程,以及矿产资源资产负债表示意等内容。具体而言:首先,本框架指出了矿产资源核算应坚持复式记账原则和权责发生制原则;其次,框架明确了会计主体为矿产资源的所有者(即政府),会计要素中的资产指的是由政府辖区控制的矿产资源,负债指的是政府开采矿产资源过程中从生态系统中"借"的其他自然资源(比如水资源、能源资源等)和生态服务(清洁的空气、水循环、气候调节等),这是本框架区别于传统国民经济核算的核心所在;再次,框架确立了矿产资源开采涉及的六大相关交易和事项,并据此设立了五类实物量账户和三类价值量账户,其中特别构建了集"生态系统服务"、"环境污染"和"资源消耗"三位于一体的"生态成本"和"生态负债"账户;最后,框架根据矿产资源开采的六大相关交易和事项,以及明确的以资产、负债与所有者权益为区分的会计账户,具体展示了矿产资源资产负债表的具体编制流程,并形成了最终的资产负债表示意。除此之外,本框架还提供了如何将实物类账户价值化的方法,特别提出了可用资源租金的净现值方法测度没有直接市场价格的非生产性资产的当前价值。该框架虽然是以矿产资源为研究对象,但其基本思路和技术也适用于其他不可再生资源的资产负债表编制。     

Can environmental regulation promote industrial innovation and productivity?Based on the strong and weak Porter hypothesis

This paper constructed extended CDM model to study the effects of environmental regulation on industrial innovation and productivity based on the perspective of strong and weak “Porter hypothesis”, by using 28 manufacturing industry panel data of 2003–2014. The findings reveal that: (1) the impact of environmental regulation on R&D intensity lags behind. In the long run, environmental regulation intensity has a significant role in promoting R&D investment in manufacturing industry. (2) The R&D has a significant role in promoting the substantial innovation of manufacturing industry, and has a strong lag and continuity. However, the R&D intensity has no obvious effect on strategic innovation of manufacturing industry. (3) The substantial innovation doesn’t significantly promote the economic performance of manufacturing industry, but it has a significant role in promoting the energy performance of manufacturing industry, and the substantial innovation plays a significant role in promoting environmental performance in the long term. The strategic innovation significantly promotes the economic performance of manufacturing industry, and it inhibits the energy performance and has no significant effect on environmental performance in the short term. It can promote the energy performance of manufacturing industry, but significantly inhibit environmental performance in the long term. (4) Environmental regulation has significantly suppressed the substantive innovation and strategic innovation of manufacturing industry, and the weak Porter hypothesis has not yet been supported. In the short term, environmental regulation inhibits manufacturing economic performance, but it can promote energy and environmental performance. In the long run, environmental regulation promotes the economic and energy performance of manufacturing industry, but it inhibits environmental performance. The establishment of strong Porter hypothesis has a certain scenario.     

Future habitat loss and extinctions driven by land‐use change in biodiversity hotspots under four scenarios of climate‐change mitigation

Numerous species have been pushed into extinction as an increasing portion of Earth's land surface has been appropriated for human enterprise. In the future, global biodiversity will be affected by both climate change and land‐use change, the latter of which is currently the primary driver of species extinctions. How societies address climate change will critically affect biodiversity because climate‐change mitigation policies will reduce direct climate‐change impacts; however, these policies will influence land‐use decisions, which could have negative impacts on habitat for a substantial number of species. We assessed the potential impact future climate policy could have on the loss of habitable area in biodiversity hotspots due to associated land‐use changes. We estimated past extinctions from historical land‐use changes (1500–2005) based on the global gridded land‐use data used for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report and habitat extent and species data for each hotspot. We then estimated potential extinctions due to future land‐use changes under alternative climate‐change scenarios (2005–2100). Future land‐use changes are projected to reduce natural vegetative cover by 26‐58% in the hotspots. As a consequence, the number of additional species extinctions, relative to those already incurred between 1500 and 2005, due to land‐use change by 2100 across all hotspots ranged from about 220 to 21000 (0.2% to 16%), depending on the climate‐change mitigation scenario and biological factors such as the slope of the species–area relationship and the contribution of wood harvest to extinctions. These estimates of potential future extinctions were driven by land‐use change only and likely would have been higher if the direct effects of climate change had been considered. Future extinctions could potentially be reduced by incorporating habitat preservation into scenario development to reduce projected future land‐use changes in hotspots or by lessening the impact of future land‐use activities on biodiversity within hotspots.     

Sustainable innovation journeys: exploring the dynamics of firm practices as part of transitions to more sustainable food and farming

Deep structural and sustained change is necessary to tackle contemporary environmental challenges. How such change emerges and can be governed has been explored through the notion of sustainable innovation journeys. To date research had conceptualised such journeys as transitions to more sustainable socio-technical systems, e.g. mobility, shelter, food and farming. However, there is a paucity of how innovation proceeds in firms as part of sustainable innovation journeys. This paper begins to address this gap in knowledge. A longitudinal case study was completed of a medium-sized food-processing firm in the UK. Qualitative data were collected using ethnographic methods such as participant observation. Drawing on practice theory, a conceptual framework was developed which enabled us to explore and make sense of the firm's sustainable innovation journey conceptualised as practices. Findings show that we can usefully treat a firm as a flow of practices that either resist or otherwise accommodate new practices deemed more sustainable.     

滇池流域管理体制机制改革方案初探

滇池是中国重点治理的"三湖"之一。自"九五"以来国家已投入大量资金治理滇池水环境,但收效缓慢。流域综合管理是现代流域管理体制改革和发展的方向。面对流域社会经济的快速发展带来的污染压力和治理效果的不理想,流域管理体制机制的改革成为加快滇池流域水环境治理的必然选择和迫切需求。本文通过部门调研、专家访谈、信息综合分析等方法,剖析了滇池流域管理体制的问题,并提出了滇池流域管理体制机制改革方案。滇池流域的管理呈现出以部门为基础的横向管理和以行政单位为基础的纵向管理相交叉的条块分割局面,导致流域多头管理、多重目标。同时利益相关方参与广度和深度均不足。最后建议滇池流域的管理从管理机构、管理方式以及利益相关方参与等方面进行改革,分为近期、远期分步实施,最终实现一方主导、以流域为管理单元、利益相关方充分参与的流域综合管理体制机制。本文可为滇池流域管理体制改革提供有力参考,也可为其他流域管理体制的完善提供借鉴。     

基于专利授权数的长江经济带创新差异的多尺度分析

实施长江经济带战略对推动我国经济发展具有重要的意义,而长江经济带创新能力的提升成为其发展的关键。基于标准差指数、变差系数、区位基尼系数和集中度指数的定量研究方法,研究长江经济带在城市群级、省级和市级多尺度上的区域创新差异及原因。研究表明:各尺度区域创新差异均呈现出持续增长趋势,并且区域创新差异随着区域尺度的增加而增加。影响长江经济带创新差异的各个区域尺度的主要原因各不相同,影响城市群创新差异的主要原因是社会环境因素,影响省域创新差异的主要原因是经济环境因素,影响城市创新差异的主要原因是对外开放因素。创新集聚随着区域尺度的增大而减小。长江中游和成渝城市群正处于创新活动向中心城市集聚阶段,而长江三角洲城市群进入创新活动的扩散阶段,并且长江三角洲城市群将形成巨大的创新集聚系统。     

综合水质标识指数法在浑河水质评价中的应用

综合评价水环境质量,全面把握流域水环境污染特征是水环境污染防治中的重要基础性工作。水质标识指数可以完整标识水质评价指标的类别、水质数据、功能区目标值等重要信息,在单因子水质标识指数法基础上建立的综合水质标识指数法能完整表达河流总体的综合水质信息,既不会因个别水质指标较差就否定综合水质,又能对综合水质做出合理的评价;既可以在Ⅰ到Ⅴ类中比较水质的优劣,亦可以对劣Ⅴ类进行评价。为系统全面地研究浑河流域各不同河段水环境特征,将浑河流域划分为3个控制单元,根据2001—2010年间水质监测数据,采用综合水质标识指数法,识别出各控制单元主要污染因子,并阐明了浑河流域水环境质量时空变化规律,本研究即体现了全流域统筹考虑的系统思想,又体现了分区研究的针对性特点,并首次将综合水质标识指数法应用于浑河流域水质综合评价,其研究结论对水质监测数据的评价有一定的借鉴作用,亦对流域水污染防治对策的提出有一定的指导意义。