The impact of ISO 14001 on corporate environmental performance: a study of Swedish manufacturing firms

The debate concerning the environmental effectiveness of environmental management systems (EMS) based on ISO 14001 is still open and scholars have called for further studies that can explain the contrasting evidence in previous research. As a response, this study aims to contribute knowledge about the effects of ISO 14001-based EMS by presenting fact-based environmental data. The study focuses on changes in performance over a period of 12 years and includes both firms with an EMS (66 firms) and firms without one (50 firms). Consideration is given to the improvement efforts in the firms before EMS adoption making it possible to neutralize any selection effects where better environmental performance precedes ISO 14001 adoption. Analysis has been carried out using statistical methods for six different environmental areas. No statistically significant differences between certified and non-certified firms concerning the change in the rate of improvement could be found in any of the six areas. However, it can be suspected that EMS adoption has positive effects on energy use and waste production whereas the non-adopting firms seem to perform better concerning air emissions. These mixed results mirrors previous research, which is rather worrying considering the worldwide popularity of EMS based on ISO 14001 in industry.     

Preliminary evidence of a decline in perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) concentrations in American Red Cross blood donors

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS,C(8)F(17)SO(3)(-)) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA,C(7)F(15)CO(2)(-)) concentrations in American Red Cross blood donors from Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota have declined after the 2000-2002 phase-out of perfluorooctanesulfonyl-fluoride (POSF, C(8)F(17)SO(2)F)-based materials by the primary global manufacturer, 3M Company. Forty donor plasma samples, categorized by age and sex, were collected in 2005, and PFOS and PFOA concentrations were compared to 100 (non-paired) donor serum samples collected in 2000 from the same general population that were analyzed at the time using ion-pair extraction methods with tetrahydroperfluorooctanesulfonate as an internal standard. Eleven of the 100 samples originally collected were reanalyzed with present study methods that involved (13)C- labeled PFOA spiked into the donor samples, original samples, control human plasma, and the calibration curve prior to extraction, and was used as a surrogate to monitor extraction efficiency. Quantification was performed by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry methods. Among the 100 serum samples analyzed for PFOS, the geometric mean was 33.1 ng ml(-1) (95% CI 29.8-36.7) in 2000 compared to 15.1 ng ml(-1) (95% CI 13.3-17.1) in 2005 (p<0.0001) for the 40 donor plasma samples. The geometric mean concentration for PFOA was 4.5 ng ml(-1) (95% CI 4.1-5.0) in 2000 compared to 2.2 ng ml(-1) (95% CI 1.9-2.6) in 2005 (p<0.0001). The decrease was consistent across donors' age and sex. To confirm these preliminary findings, additional sub-sets of year 2000 samples will be analyzed, and a much larger biomonitoring study of other locations is planned.     

Is big the best? Queen size,usurpation and nest closure in a primitively eusocial sweat bee (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lasioglossum malachurum</Emphasis>)

For primitively eusocial insects in which a single foundress establishes a nest at the start of the colony cycle, the solitary provisioning phase before first worker emergence represents a risky period when other, nestless foundresses may attempt to usurp the nest. In the primitively eusocial sweat bee Lasioglossum malachurum (Hymenoptera, Halictidae), spring foundresses compete for nests which are dug into hard soil. Nest-searching foundresses (‘floaters’) frequently inspected nests during this solitary phase and thereby exerted a usurpation pressure on resident queens. Usurpation has been hypothesised to increase across the solitary provisioning phase and favour closure of nests at an aggregation, marking the termination of the solitary provisioning phase by foundresses, before worker emergence. However, our experimental and observational data suggest that usurpation pressure may remain constant or even decrease across the solitary provisioning phase and therefore cannot explain nest closure before first worker emergence. Levels of aggression during encounters between residents and floaters were surprisingly low (9% of encounters across 2 years), and the outcome of confrontations was in favour of residents (resident maintains residency in 94% of encounters across 2 years). Residents were significantly larger than floaters. However, the relationship between queen size and offspring production, though positive, was not statistically significant. Size therefore seems to confer a considerable advantage to a queen during the solitary provisioning phase in terms of nest residency, but its importance in terms of worker production appears marginal. Factors other than intraspecific usurpation need to be invoked to explain the break in provisioning activity of a foundress before first worker emergence.     

Establishment of a cross-European field site network in the ALARM project for assessing large-scale changes in biodiversity

The field site network (FSN) plays a central role in conducting joint research within all Assessing Large-scale Risks for biodiversity with tested Methods (ALARM) modules and provides a mechanism for integrating research on different topics in ALARM on the same site for measuring multiple impacts on biodiversity. The network covers most European climates and biogeographic regions, from Mediterranean through central European and boreal to subarctic. The project links databases with the European-wide field site network FSN, including geographic information system (GIS)-based information to characterise the test location for ALARM researchers for joint on-site research. Maps are provided in a standardised way and merged with other site-specific information. The application of GIS for these field sites and the information management promotes the use of the FSN for research and to disseminate the results. We conclude that ALARM FSN sites together with other research sites in Europe jointly could be used as a future backbone for research proposals.     

Serum concentrations of perfluorooctanesulfonate and other fluorochemicals in an elderly population from Seattle, Washington

Perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride (POSF, C₈F₁₇SO₂F) related-materials have been used as surfactants, paper and packaging treatments, and surface (e.g., carpet, textile, upholstery) protectants. A metabolite, perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS, C₈F₁₇SO₃⁻), has been identified in the serum and liver of non-occupationally exposed humans and wildlife. Because of its persistence, an important question was whether elderly humans might have higher PFOS concentrations. From a prospective study designed to examine cognitive function in the Seattle (WA) metropolitan area, blood samples were collected from 238 dementia-free subjects (ages 65–96). High-pressure liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry determined seven fluorochemicals: PFOS; N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetate; N-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetate; perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetate; perfluorooctanesulfonamide; perfluorooctanoate; and perfluorohexanesulfonate. Serum PFOS concentrations ranged from less than the lower limit of quantitation (3.4 ppb) to 175.0 ppb (geometric mean 31.0 ppb; 95% CI 28.8–33.4). An estimate of the 95% tolerance limit was 84.1 ppb (upper 95% confidence limit 104.0 ppb). Serum PFOS concentrations were slightly lower among the most elderly. There were no significant differences by sex or years residence in Seattle. The distributions of the other fluorochemicals were approximately an order of magnitude lower. Similar to other reported findings of younger adults, the geometric mean serum PFOS concentration in non-occupational adult populations likely approximates 30–40 ppb with 95% of the population’s serum PFOS concentrations below 100 ppb.     

Kin discriminators in the eusocial sweat bee <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lasioglossum malachurum</Emphasis>: the reliability of cuticular and Dufour’s gland odours

The ability to discriminate degrees of relatedness may be expected to evolve if it allows unreciprocated altruism to be preferentially directed towards kin (Hamilton in J Theor Biol 7:1–16, 1964). We explored the possibility of kin recognition in the primitively eusocial halictid bee Lasioglossum malachurum by investigating the reliability of worker odour cues that can be perceived by workers to act as indicators of either nest membership or kinship. Cuticular and Dufour’s gland compounds varied significantly among colonies of L. malachurum, providing the potential for nestmate discrimination. A significant, though weak, negative correlation between chemical distance and genetic relatedness (r = −0.055, p < 0.001) suggests a genetic component to variation in cuticular bouquet, but odour cues were not informative enough to discriminate between different degrees of relatedness within nests. This pattern of variation was similar for Dufour’s gland bouquets. The presence of unrelated individuals within nests that are not chemically different from their nestmates suggests that the discrimination system of L. malachurum is prone to acceptance errors. Compounds produced by colony members are likely combined to generate a gestalt colony chemical signature such that all nestmates have a similar smell. The correlation between odour cues and nest membership was greater for perceived compounds than for non-perceived compounds, suggesting that variability in perceived compounds is a result of positive selection for nestmate recognition despite potentially stabilising selection to reduce variability in odour differences and thereby to reduce costs derived from excessive intracolony nepotistic behaviour.     

Contrasting plant productivity-diversity relationships across latitude: the role of evolutionary history

The relationship between net primary productivity and biological diversity has been a central topic in ecology for several decades. The unimodal ("hump-back") relationship has been the most widely accepted for plants with the decrease in diversity at high productivity usually attributed to competitive exclusion. However, the relatively small species pool size under high productivity conditions may account for this pattern as well. Small species pool sizes for highly productive habitats are characteristic of temperate regions, where productive habitats for speciation and species migration have historically been rare. In contrast, productive habitats in the tropics have been relatively common during evolutionary history, resulting in large species pools. We hypothesize that evolutionary history contributes to the observed productivity-diversity relationship of plants, and that the productivity-diversity relationship differs between temperate and tropical regions. We investigated the productivity-diversity relationship patterns from 163 case studies throughout the world. Latitude described approximately 80% of the variation in the shape of the relationships. The unimodal relationship was found to dominate in the temperate zone, whereas the positive relationship was significantly more common in the tropics. We detected no influence due to methods of productivity measurement, but unimodal or positive productivity-diversity relationships were more likely within larger ranges of productivity. The length of the productivity gradient did not affect the latitudinal influence. In summary, the shape of the productivity-diversity relationship differs between temperate and tropical regions and the different evolutionary history of the local species pools is a probable cause for the difference.