Promotion of cleaner production investments: international experience

Cleaner Production (CP) should be an essential part of any comprehensive environmental management system at an enterprise or national level. In many cases the adoption of CP improvements can reduce or even eliminate the need for end-of-pipe investments and therefore can have both environmental and economic benefits. Experience shows, that often companies having identified cost-effective and technically-feasible CP options, may still not be able to make necessary CP investment to realise the financial benefits and environmental advantages. Financing of CP projects varies among countries and types of the projects. Domestic and international efforts to strengthen environmental financing still face a number of serious obstacles, many of which are related to profound economic, political and social problems. The detailed evaluation of revolving fund establishment possibilities based on personal experience of the authors in Lithuania, Zimbabwe and Vietnam is presented in the paper.     

Pilot project on sustainability management accounting with the Styrian automobile cluster

The paper is based on a project with the Styrian automobile cluster in Austria and selected member companies. In six companies, the environmental management costs, as well as further costs for health and safety, risk management and other social issues were assessed. Less tangible items and external effects are addressed. Starting with the efforts to assess the financial effects of the sustainability performance indicators provided by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for sustainability reporting, the UN DSD (United Nations Division for Sustainable Development) method for environmental management accounting (EMA) was enlarged by several other cost categories. This paper describes these and the experiences from the pilot projects.The two major cost drivers are the purchase costs of non-product output and the costs related to lost working days because of sick leave and accidents and the overtime pay to make up for these lost working days. The work of the Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) department helps to reduce these costs. The cost assessment scheme allows one to better understand the relationships between costs for treatment of undesired effects due to unimplemented protection measures and lost material purchase value in comparison to the prevention costs, which mainly consist of the internal management departments and related external consultants.The assessment of sustainability management costs is of interest for organisations, which already publish a sustainability report and want to more accurately assess the financial effects of such aspects addressed via EMA. It is also useful for small and medium sized companies, which use the assessment as a starting point to shape their (EHS) system. The main benefits are more accurate data and better arguments for investment appraisal or performance indicators as well as improved consistency of information and management systems that should help them to improve their environmental, social and economic performance.     

Pollution minimisation practices in the Australian mining and mineral processing industries

Research was conducted to identify some of the current pollution minimisation practices adopted in Australia's mining and mineral processing industries. Initially, 84 mining and mineral processing companies were approached for inclusion in the study, with request only made for information that was available to the company stakeholders and the wider general community. Among the responses received, BHP Billiton, BlueScope Steel, Newmont Australia Limited and AngloGold Australia provided the information requested and/or a substantial quantity of information through reports on their company website. Analysis of the data collected for these companies indicated that improvements were made, and that policies had been implemented over the previous few years. The pollution minimisation and policy practices adopted at the operations of these companies include environmental management systems, advanced pollution control technologies, environmental awareness training for employees, and requirement – from company stakeholders – for increased accountability of environmental impacts.     

The state of environmental performance evaluation in the public sector: the case of the Portuguese defence sector

The environmental performance evaluation (EPE) of organizations is becoming an autonomous management tool. The main goal of this research was to assess the state of EPE practice in the Portuguese defence sector, as a particular part of public services. A questionnaire survey was conducted involving all Portuguese military units that have a person in charge of environmental issues. The questionnaire was designed to assess: (i) the importance and drivers of EPE; (ii) the ISO 14031 knowledge and implementation; (iii) the knowledge and use of environmental indicators; (iv) the optimal format for indicators; and (v) the advantages and drawbacks of using environmental indicators. Despite various initiatives driving environmental practices in public organizations, most of that experience is only centred on an environmental management system, and EPE is quite a new issue. Nevertheless, general environmental performance evaluation is a growing reality and one in which Portuguese military units are taking an increasing interest. Overall respondents agree on the importance of measuring and communicating environmental performance related to their main missions and activities. The main drivers for EPE in military units are the prevention of health risks and compliance with regulations. However, to date, ISO 14031 and environmental performance indicators are almost unknown in the respondent military units. Among the three military branches, the Navy revealed the worst environmental performance evaluation knowledge, awareness and practice.     

Does ISO 14001 work in Brazil?

As a result of increasing global awareness about the importance of the environment, depletion of natural resources and legal pressures for companies to manage their processes in a sustainable manner, ISO 14001 systems have been gaining increasingly more importance in the organizational scenario. These elements are even more critical in emerging nations due to less awareness and fewer demands by governments and the population in relation to environmental issues. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to verify the benefits and difficulties of Environmental Management Systems based on ISO 14001 at industries in the state of São Paulo – Brazil (an emerging country) by conducting a survey to subsidize the proposal for actions in the public, academic and private sectors to promote the use of this standard of reference and strengthen its results in Brazil. A questionnaire was sent to 194 companies from the National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality database. 69 answered, representing a return rate of 35.36%. The main benefits identified are related to the development of preventive environmental actions, reduction in the consumption of power, water, gas and fuel oil, and a positive influence on other internal management processes. The main difficulties are related to cost increases from ISO 14001 management systems and the constant changes in environmental legislation in Brazil. Some actions are proposed at the end of the analyses to intensify the use and improve the results of this standard, such as changes in government legislation and its collective development and implementation in industries.     

中央环保督察“回头看”的市场反应——基于重污染行业上市公司的影响分析

运用事件研究法和非参数检验,探究了中央环保督察“回头看”的宣布实施对于沪深两市A股重污染行业上市公司收益情况的影响及其差异情况,结果显示：事件窗内中央环保督察“回头看”使得重污染行业上市公司的平均累计异常收益率降低至-2.005%,且这一负面冲击在时间上有延长趋势;不同公司性质、子行业的重污染行业上市公司所受影响存在显著差异.就企业性质差异而言,非国有公司累计收益率所受的负面冲击平均比国有公司高1.696%.在不同行业中,建材、制药、石化行业所受负面冲击最大,纺织、造纸、制革行业所受影响则较小.此外,市场对于火电、化工行业企业的反应并非多为负向,注重环境管理使得部分企业在中央环保督察“回头看”中得到了市场的正向回馈.建议持续推进中央环保督察“回头看”制度,以切实促进公司开展节能减排,同时,重污染行业公司特别是非国有公司以及上述行业公司应加强自身环境管理,积极进行环境信息披露,从而尽可能避免在类似的环境规制中受到负面冲击.     

Improving cleaner production through the application of environmental management tools in China

Cleaner Production (CP) as a strategy for reducing negative environmental impacts throughout the production processes avoids and decreases pollution at its source and increases the competitiveness of enterprises. Since the establishment of China's goal for quadrupling its gross domestic product between 2000 and 2020, while improving its environmental performance and maintaining social stability, ‘win-win’ concepts such as CP are playing an increasingly prominent role in the country's development plans. Consequently, China's efforts to create a favourable policy and institutional framework for the promotion of CP that includes its unique national “CP Promotion Law” which governs the implementation of all CP activities in the country are encouraging. However, China has encountered significant challenges in improving, on a large scale, the environmental performance of its industries. Factors such as the difficulty in mainstreaming CP in industries, limited institutional resources as well as constraints in financial and technical resources of small and medium-sized enterprises have hindered the widespread adoption of CP. In addition, due to local peculiarities and disparities, different regional approaches for its implementation have evolved. This paper describes and analyses how the application of an environmental management tool in Zhejiang Province has enhanced the environmental, economic and organisational benefits of CP in enterprises.     

Policy and operational constraints for the implementation of cleaner production in Zambia

This paper reports the findings of a study conducted to identify the appropriate policy strategies for cleaner production in Zambia. Through direct consultation with industry and other stakeholders, it was observed that the major constraints that hindered implementation of cleaner production in the industry were financial problems, poor/weak enforcement of environmental laws, lack of knowledge, lack of awareness and lack of technical competence. Similarly, potential motivators for cleaner production in industry were identified and included the macro-economic climate, economic reforms and policies, economic incentives, regulation and environmental leadership. In conclusion, the low levels of cleaner production adoption were mainly due to the lack of environmental standards in some industries, low levels of cleaner production awareness, limited understanding of commercial and economic benefits of utilisation of cleaner production approaches, inadequate institutional arrangements for the promotion and implementation of cleaner production and the lacklustre enforcement of existing environmental laws.     

The potential of environmental regulation to change managerial perception,environmental management,competitiveness and financial performance

This research presents an overview of where the gaps in the literature exist in relation to the link between environmental regulation and proactive environmental management and competitiveness, and incorporates them in a whole model. Different papers have highlighted only partial aspects of these relationships. Specifically, this research evaluates the relationship between managerial perception and the different styles of environmental regulations – command-and-control versus voluntary norms – the mediator role of environmental management in the link between environmental regulations and competitiveness, the effect of competitiveness on financial performance, and the two-way relationship between proactive environmental management and financial performance. Finally, this paper uses statistical evidence to test and estimate causal relationships through a structural equation modelling of 208 firms affected by IPPC law in Spain. There is a lack of systematic statistical evidence on this topic in the literature, which mainly focuses on case studies. The results show that when environmental regulation stems from command-and-control legislation its influence on managerial perception and proactive environmental management is not significant. However, when environmental regulation stems from voluntary norms, its effects are positive. Moreover, investment in proactive environmental management contributes to increasing the competitiveness of the firm. Cost and differentiation competitive advantage have a positive impact on financial performance. Finally, the link between proactive environmental management and financial performance may follow different paths: (1) neither direct nor single, because it can depend on competitive advantage, and (2) direct, because there is a significant two-way relationship between these variables (proactive environmental management influences financial performance and financial performance influences proactive environmental management).     

Environmental management accounting in Lithuania: exploratory study of current practices,opportunities and strategic intents

There is a growing consensus among the Lithuanian policy makers, practitioners and industrialists that environmental policy must move from a reactive stance to a more proactive, sustainable development approach. As a result, many companies are increasingly interested in the application of economic incentives at least as supplements or reinforcements of environmental standards.The Institute of Environmental Engineering (EU Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Industrial Development (APINI – SID)) in 1992–2003 has been involved in introduction and implementation of preventive environmental strategy in industry in Lithuania and in other countries. In Lithuania, these efforts resulted in the implementation of more than 200 cleaner production innovations in more than 150 Lithuanian companies. It should be stressed that effective plant maintenance is becoming a higher priority to plant managers. It is important to ensure cost-savings, at all levels, that include maximizing productivity and implementing energy-saving approaches. Effective and efficient maintenance are not just desirable, but fundamental to profitable business operations. Therefore, central to the environmental view of sustainable development is the concept that economic and social systems are sub-systems of the global environment.APINI's experience shows that decision-makers at the company level often fail to recognize the economic values of natural resources as assets as well as the business and financial value of good environmental performance. Therefore, there is a need to upgrade the business decision-making process by including information on material flows and related costs to account for efforts of sustainable development [Staniskis JK, Stasiskiene Z. Promotion of cleaner production investments: international experience. Journal of Cleaner Production 2002;11(6):619–28. ISSN: 0959-6526, Elsevier Science]. Decisions are increasingly affected by environmental costs. Application of environmental management accounting (EMA), which integrates two of the main principles of sustainable development – environment and economics, can help to significantly improve corporate decision-making.EMA is becoming increasingly important not only for environmental management decisions and development of environmental management systems (EMS), but also for all types of routine management activities, such as product and process design, cost allocation and control, capital budgeting, purchasing, product pricing and performance evaluation.Companies, which use EMA as a part of integrated management system, are provided with accurate and comprehensive information for the measurement and reporting of environmental performance.This paper investigates the current state of EMA practices in Lithuanian SMEs that have already been or are being implementing EMS and which have implemented CP innovations. In this case, EMA is analysed as an innovative assessment and evaluation method of EMS and CP innovation's environmental impacts and economic benefits. It should be stressed, that there are obvious differences in case studies from different industries. However, review of the results shows that there are many similarities in what improvements can be suggested for environmentally concerned companies both in terms of environmentally sound operation and for reporting of environmental management accounting information.     

Cleaner production as a means for effective environmental management

Cleaner production is a strategy to prevent emissions at the source and to initiate a continuous preventive improvement of environmental performance of organizations. In terms of Cleaner production the focus of management should be on prevention rather than on cure in avoiding environmental problems. The inclusion of commitment to prevention in the environmental policy is one prerequisite of the standard ISO 14001. But how can a formalized environmental management system help to start a process of continuous improvement and voluntary self regulation? We conclude from our experience that Cleaner production and ISO 14001 go well together and support each other in helping an organization to really decrease its environmental effect. Analysing environmental management systems introduced on the basis of Cleaner production projects demonstrates, that Cleaner production supplies management and employees with systematic tools to decrease the environmental impact and at the same time save costs from inefficient use of materials and energy and motivates the organization as well by creating awareness throughout the enterprise.     

Insuring Southeast Asian commercial forests: Fire risk analysis and the potential for use of data in risk pricing and reduction of forest fire risk

The author uses his own data gleaned from over 10 years of commercial forestry insurance across the world to propose that despite a low intrinsic fire risk across most of Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, commercial fire losses are unacceptably high, and could be reduced substantially within the current financial legal and political framework within which forestry companies operate. Opening with a statement about the dearth of forest fire loss data in the commercial sector, it is observed that the consequent inability of general insurers to estimate the rate of fire loss leads to very low insurance participation in forestry within Indonesia. A summary is then provided of the financial and environmental benefits of insurance participation in commercial forestry were this situation to be changed. A short discussion on risk perceptions is introduced to make the point that without reliable commercial forest fire loss data, risk perceptions of fire exposure in Southeast Asia by the financial sector, including insurers, is a barrier to risk transfer and investment. While real fire risk and perceived fire risk for Indonesia seem at present to be in agreement, the paper challenges that this should the case. Comparisons are made with different parts of the world with the knowledge that, in commercial terms, plantations in the low latitudes behave similarly everywhere in terms of fire causes, fire propagation factors, and characteristics of plantation or managed mixed forest fires. A review of the fire sizes within commercial forests is a good indicator of the efficiency of fire management strategies, and profiles from a high fire risk territory and Indonesia are compared. Using commercial and unidentified data the author then demonstrates that commercial growers in Indonesia have a high annual rate of forest fire loss and may also have a significant catastrophe fire exposure. This ‘cat’ exposure is far greater than for equivalent plantations in clearly higher fire risk environments. These conclusions are and should be discussed with forestry companies to change attitude and investment levels. Practical points for improved plantation fire management are made along with comments about the resources required. A parallel discussion then reviews fire risk assessment and management by the insurers to prevent their own ‘forest fire’ losses if they are to get further involved with the provision of Indonesian commercial forest risk transfer. The explanation of how insurers price risk within a portfolio helps identify the specific data needed for a proper risk management strategy to be developed.     

Finding the connection: environmental management systems and environmental performance

With more than 130,000 organizations worldwide certified according to ISO requirements, business people, regulatory authorities and other stakeholders have reason to wonder whether the purpose of ISO 14001, which is to help improve environmental performance, is being fulfilled. There is a growing body of literature attempting to answer this question. The results, however, are inconclusive.This meta-study analyzes a pool of 23 studies connecting environmental performance to environmental management systems. It shows that the reason that earlier studies arrived at mixed conclusions is twofold. Firstly, there is no agreement on what environmental performance is or how to measure it. Secondly, there is neither clarity nor agreement about how or why environmental management systems are expected to aid performance. It is therefore unclear whether the mechanisms that lead to improvement are expected to be the same for all companies or dependent on each implementation.The authors conclude that it is more fruitful to research how environmental management systems affect performance, rather than whether they do so or not. The recommended starting point for such studies is environmental performance as each organization defines it. This in turn implies a case by case approach and a need for much more research in the field.     

Consistency and “awareness gaps” in the environmental behaviour of Hungarian companies

This paper is designed to provide a contribution to the analysis of corporate environmental awareness, describing the concept along its five components: environmental knowledge, values, attitudes, revealed willingness to act and actual behaviour. Due to research experiences companies’ environmental behaviour is not always consistent in practice, which indicates “gaps” emerging between and within awareness components. A questionnaire-based analysis of 466 Hungarian manufacturing companies shows that environmental knowledge is a necessary but not sufficient precondition for adequate organisational behaviour; the impact of favourable attitudes and willingness to act is more essential and can override the impact of knowledge. However, “gaps” also exist between attitudes and actions, as well as within components of corporate environmental awareness which makes the resulting organisational behaviour different from expected.     

Implementing environmental with other standardized management systems: Scope,sequence, time and integration

The aim of this article is to analyze how the implementation of the environmental management system (EMS) in accordance with the ISO 14001: 2004 standard has been carried out in organizations having more than one standardized Management System (MSs). In particular, four implementation aspects will be discussed, namely the different management system standards (MSSs) used for registration, for example ISO 14001, ISO 9001, OHSAS 18001, ISO 27001 and SA 8000, the order in which they were implemented, the time required for each implementation, as well as the scope of integration of these MSSs into a single Integrated Management System (IMS).In order to do so, some of the results of a survey carried out in 176 organizations registered to, at a minimum, both ISO 14001: 2004 and ISO 9001: 2000 standards for environmental and quality management, respectively, are presented. As one of the few existing empirical studies regarding the integration of multiple MSs, this research reveals the importance of the different possibilities which organizations can opt for when considering EMS implementation. For example, while most respondents implemented ISO 9001 before ISO 14001, others did so simultaneously or even applied ISO 14001 first. Furthermore, although a large majority of organizations integrated their EMS with additional standardized MSs, a small percentage did not. Apart from illustrating the survey outcomes, the article contains a detailed case analysis of four specific organizations with high environmental awareness that have implemented quality and other standardized MSs.     

甘肃省迭部县居民森林生态环境支付意愿影响因素分析

公众的生态环境认知水平及支付意愿对森林生态环境保护具有重要的影响和作用.根据甘肃省迭部县居民的291份有效调查问卷,采用描述性统计方法和结构方程模型对森林生态环境支付意愿的影响因素进行了分析.结果表明:①居民对生态环境服务价值的认知、对生态环境补偿的认知、对生态环境保护的预期收益、居民个人资金技术因素、外部环境因素与居民森林生态环境支付意愿之间存在正相关关系,且影响显著,其中影响程度最大的是外部环境因素,标准相关系数为0.830,解释效果良好,影响程度最小的是资金技术因素,相关系数仅为0.283.②多群组结构方程模型研究结果显示,男性居民的森林生态环境支付意愿主要受对森林生态环境认知程度的影响,女性更容易受外部环境因素的影响.不同年龄段的居民在森林生态环境服务价值认知、资金技术因素和外部环境因素方面存在差异性.不同教育程度居民之间的差异主要体现在对森林生态环境服务价值的认知和对森林生态环境补偿的认知上.③性别、年龄、教育程度等因素对生态环境服务价值认知、预期收益等有显著影响,且不同因素的影响程度存在差异.研究显示,对森林生态环境支付意愿影响因素分析反映了环境支付意愿的普适性问题,研究结果可为生态资源和环境管理等提供参考.      

中国对外投资中的环境管理研究

自"走出去"战略实施以来,我国对外投资步伐明显加快,规模日益扩大,取得了显著成绩。随着全球环境问题频发,经济、贸易与环境的关系日益成为人们关注的焦点。我国"走出去"企业的数量大大增加,国际舆论开始关注中国企业在海外的环境行为。一些媒体对中国企业社会责任方面进行批评,个别媒体还存在恶意歪曲中国形象的嫌疑。通过对中国对外投资环境问题进行研究和反思,我们确实发现中国企业在海外可能存在着很大的环境风险。这些问题如不能很好地解决,将影响我国的国际形象,也影响我国"走出去"战略的实施。中国对外投资企业的环境行为需要相关政策进行引导,也需要配套的环境咨询和服务业的支持。我国针对对外投资的环境保护政策还存在缺陷,现行的与环境相关的政策在操作和执行层面仍有待加强,应尽快出台相应的指南来引导和规范企业在对外投资中的环境行为,防范环境风险。     

Improving the environmental performance of firms: the experience of two metal working companies

This case study compares the very different approaches and experiences of two New Zealand metal working companies attempting to reduce waste and pollution. It looks at why and how each got started, the key factors affecting progress, the changes that have been introduced, their cost-effectiveness and the additional benefits which have accrued. One company was significantly more successful than the other and the key factors contributing to its success were good data on the cost of waste generation, an effective total quality management programme, worker empowerment, pursuit of efficiency (cf. environmental) goals, a company culture supporting innovation, the personality and motivation of staff in key roles and access to environmental advice and investment capital. Air emission improvements were, however, triggered by regulation.     

Policy guidance for identifying and effectively managing perpetual environmental impacts from new hardrock mines

Perpetual environmental management at operating and proposed hardrock mines is a rapidly expanding global dilemma. While economies of scale have encouraged larger mines, improved models routinely predict long-term water quality degradation at sulfide metal mines. Technical causes include oxidation of sulfide minerals and seepage from waste rock, tailings, and pit wall rock. Perpetual treatment is usually less expensive than permanent stabilization, even using 2% “risk-free” investment return rate; but this option greatly increases the social and financial complexity. A few regulations address perpetual management, but specific requirements range from formal acceptance to complete prohibition. With vague regulations, predictions of long-term impacts often delay permitting as operators and regulators grapple with model uncertainty and regulatory ambiguity. Risk management tools (e.g., insurance, inflation-protected investments, etc.) can reduce but cannot eliminate risk, and their continued availability is uncertain. What regulators and mine operators need – but do not have – is a clear framework to guide them in developing perpetual management plans that balance risks (e.g., uncertainty in predictions, cost, finance, and governance) and ensure responsible environmental and social stewardship. This paper responds with a review of perpetual mine management issues, including technical causes, policy examples, investment tools, case studies, technical remedies, and principles for successful long-term management.     

环境信息系统的成本效益分析及投资风险管理

信息化的推进以及信息技术的运用并没有产生明显的经济效益,反而导致技术投资的"不经济"现象,通过探讨环境信息系统的成本投入以及产生的各种效益,明确了环境信息系统建设过程中应该加强投资风险管理,初步构建了投资风险管理的工作流程及运行机制。