A basic study with feasibility of applying clean development mechanism to the transport projects

In the transport sector, few projects applied Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) or Joint Implementation (JI) projects. This study will examine the feasibility of applying CDM to the transport sector from viewpoints of validation of processes and funding. A number of greenhouse gas emission reduction projects, as well as traffic management project within existing transport infrastructures, can be implemented as CDM projects. New transport infrastructure projects can be validated by transportdemand forecasting and traffic simulation methods, though application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) technologies. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

通过农产品质量认证的合作社影响农业化肥用量的理论机制与实证分析

化肥减量施用是实现中国农产品质量安全与农业绿色高质量发展的重要举措之一,而小规模分散化的经营格局不利于化肥减量技术的推广使用。农民合作社是弥补小规模经营不足与实施农产品质量认证的重要制度安排,其能否以及如何促进农业化肥减量是当前亟待回答的重大现实问题。本文阐明了通过农产品质量认证的合作社对农业化肥用量的影响及作用机制,并基于2007—2018年中国30个省级（市、自治区）面板数据展开实证分析。研究结果表明：通过农产品质量认证的合作社存在显著的化肥减施效应,其主要通过质量溢价、组织规范、组织支持传导路径实现农业化肥减量。从区域差异看,在化肥用量处于高分位点的省份,通过农产品质量认证的合作社表现出更为显著的化肥减施效应;从农作物差异看,通过农产品质量认证的合作社对农业化肥减量施用的贡献主要来自水稻、小麦、玉米三大粮食作物,以及棉花、甘蔗、苹果、柑子四类经济作物的化肥减施效应。     

Waste of organic and conventional meat and dairy products—A case study from Swedish retail

Many retailers take initiatives to reduce food waste, which can lead to enhanced sustainability, including reduced environmental impacts and cost savings. Another common environmental strategy in retail management is to increase the range of organic products. This study examined if organic food products have a higher level of waste, which thereby risk to counteract the environmental ambitions behind offering these products. The study also examined to what degree differences in waste level could be explained by turnover, shelf-life and wholesale pack size. In the study, six Swedish supermarkets provided data on all articles sold or wasted in the deli, meat, dairy and cheese departments during 2010 and 2011. 24 organic products were compared to their conventional counterparts; 22 of these had higher waste levels (from 1.5 to 29 times higher). Differences in wastage were also compared across departments; in all four departments, organic products as a group had higher waste percentage at all four departments. There was a negative correlation between the total mass sold of a product and the percentage waste. Also, longer shelf-life was associated with decreased waste, but only for products with low turnover. The systematic problem of retail food waste – particularly of organic products and other products with a low turnover – may be mitigated by increasing turnover, by stocking products with longer shelf-life or by decreasing the ordered volume (e.g. through decreased wholesale pack sizes).     

航空承运人审定监察系统研究

阐述了建设民用航空承运人审定监察系统的必要性,探讨了航空承运人审定监察系统的概念和特征,指出航空承运人审定监察系统是国家民用航空监管部门使用的,利用系统构型模型和数据收集工具完成对航空承运人系统设计评估和系统运行绩效的评估,进而对航空承运人依据规章提出改进系统设计和运行的要求,对航空承运人开展风险管理的流程、工具、信息系统的集合。此系统具有管理性、系统性、自动化三个特征。文中研究并提出了该系统的框架结构、主要功能模块设置,分析了该系统与不同组织机构间的协调关系。其中系统以＂两个闭环流程＂,＂六个的功能模块＂实现了审定监察工作的闭环管理,实现了正式的风险管理与安全保证功能在局方审定监察工作中的强化与落实。     

An exploratory assessment of the attitudes of Chinese wood products manufacturers towards forest certification

Interviews with Chinese forest products manufacturers were conducted to explore their attitudes towards forest certification and related issues. Participants comprised owners, CEOs, and managers in 20 Chinese wood products companies, including producers of furniture, doors, flooring, and various engineered wood products. The interviews were used to analyze the extent to which participants were considering adopting forest certification and what might motivate such a decision. This was done by assessing their awareness and knowledge of certification. The results indicated that participants' understanding of forest certification was extremely low, despite major efforts in China to raise awareness of the issue. Potential economic benefits were the most frequently cited reason to adopt certification, including gaining or maintaining competitive advantage over their industry counterparts, improved access to both domestic and export markets, better customer recognition, and enhanced corporate responsibility practices. Some interviewees (3 out of 20) considered that certification would become a mandatory requirement or industry standard, and that this would be the only viable motivation for certification given that the financial benefits were potentially limited. According to the participants, the main differences between certified and uncertified wood products operations related to improved market access and public image. Interviewees felt that cooperation between and support from governments and the forest industry would enable the enhanced awareness of certification amongst manufacturers and the general public. This, in turn, could serve to stimulate demand for certified products.     

矿用产品安全标志的监督管理探讨

为有效加强矿用产品安全标志发放后的监督管理力度,进一步提高安全标志的有效性及公信力,应积极探索、合理借鉴其他产品认证的成功经验与做法。对比分析我国矿用产品安全标志监督管理与UL认证跟踪检验在监督频次、监督重点、实施方式等诸多方面的异同,提出完善矿用产品安全标志监督管理的措施和建议:紧密结合我国安全生产工作,认真贯彻落实关于矿用产品安全标志管理的文件精神,有效利用监督管理资源,对获得矿用产品安全标志的生产单位实行科学、动态的管理,建立畅通的信息反馈渠道等。     

Positive and negative aspects of GRI reporting as perceived by Brazilian organizations

This paper aims to identify the positive and negative aspects in the sustainability reporting framework proposed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The research was conducted through content analysis of 27 companies’ responses to three questions: “Why does the company where you work prepare a sustainability report?” “What are the positive aspects you identify in the framework for GRI reporting?” and “What are the negative aspects you identify in the framework for GRI reporting?” The questionnaire was sent to all Brazilian companies that published sustainability reports using the GRI guidelines between 2011 and 2013 related to the base year 2010. We found that respondents viewed the GRI guidelines and the reports they created as management tools for sustainability and that they assist in benchmarking sustainability performance and legitimizing the sustainability actions of the organization. Furthermore, some respondents indicated that the reports themselves are marketing tools. On the other hand, the respondents reported difficulties in understanding the proposed GRI guidelines. They considered the guidelines complex, ambiguous, and too flexible, which undermined both the standardization of the reports and the ability to compare reports. Based on these comments, it is recommended that the GRI develop a simpler and less flexible reporting methodology.     

纸塑铝复合包装材料的碳足迹评价与认证

成都610065摘要:对纸塑铝复合包装的生命周期碳足迹建模、数据收集和计算结果进行了讨论,基于碳足迹评价结果,提出了削减生命周期碳足迹的改进建议,并讨论了碳足迹案例的数据质量. 结果表明:纸塑铝复合包装材料生产80%以上的碳足迹来自纸板、铝箔和塑料的生产,其次是电力和运输;清洁生产、绿色采购和产品设计改进是降低纸塑铝复合包装生命周期碳足迹的有效措施,其中原材料及供应商的选择是最有潜力的措施;此外,应尽可能采用代表产地实际水平的数据,以提高数据质量.      

Transnational environmental standards in Eastern Europe: an assessment of companies in Lithuania and their adoption motives

During the last few decades, many environmental certification schemes were developed to enhance transparency and traceability within commodity chains. Most of them are transnational schemes, which means that they were created by non-governmental organizations and/or the private sector, independently from governments. This article aims to examine how local certified companies assess the functioning of such private environmental certification. It presents the results of an empirical research about the expectations and satisfaction of certified companies in Lithuania. Empirical data were collected through a survey with 90 companies certified by one of the three major transnational environmental standards: Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for the forestry and logging, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for fishing and aquaculture, and Oeko-Tex for the production of textiles. The results revealed that most companies have adopted these standards quite recently, indicating that it is generally a new trend in Lithuania. The findings suggest that the overall expectations with the standards’ functions, such as sending signals to clients or getting more market share, were higher than the satisfaction in all cases. The main transnational environmental standard adoption motive was the client demand. It turned out, however, that later after the certification procedure the majority of the companies were most satisfied with the market opportunities that opened up. Furthermore, the companies expected certification to operate best as a market-based mechanism; but most satisfactory performance was accredited to the signalling mechanism. Research suggests that certification provides various benefits for the companies, but the expectations might be rather exaggerated.     

Assessment of New Vehicles Emissions Certification Standards in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City

Light duty gasoline vehicles account for most of CO hydrocarbons and NOx emissions at the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City (MAMC). In order to ameliorate air pollution from the beginning of 2001, Tier 1 emission standards became mandatory for all new model year sold in the country. Car manufacturers in Mexico do not guarantee the performance of their exhaust emissions systems for a given mileage. The purpose of this study was to assess whether the Tier 1 vehicles will stand the certification values for at least 162000 km with the regular fuel available at the MAMC. Mileage accumulation and deterioration show that certified carbon monoxide emissions will stand for the useful life of the vehicles but in the case of non-methane hydrocarbons will be shorter by 40%, and nitrogen oxides emissions above the standard will be reached at one third of the accumulated kilometers. The effect of gasoline sulfur content, on the current in use Tier 1 vehicles of the MAMC and the impact on the emissions inventory in year 2010 showed that 31000 extra tons of NOx could be added to the inventory caused by the failure of the vehicles to control this pollutant at the useful life of vehicles.