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This study aims to examine the mediating role of the customer environmental satisfaction in the effect of environmental friendliness of products and the company on customer loyalty in using green products in Malaysia. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis is performed to test the proposed hypotheses among 200 full time university students with purchasing experience at least once a week green products like organic vegetables. SEM results showed that customer environmental satisfaction significantly affected customer loyalty. This pair of relationships has the highest standardized beta coefficients, signifying the most important aspect of consideration by respondents among the rest of the proposed hypotheses. Next, customer environmental satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between environmental friendliness of products and customer loyalty in using green products. The results confirmed that customers are satisfied with their decision to purchase green products as they consume the least amount of resources and energy which results in minimum environmental damage and are also easy to recycle, disassemble, decompose, and reuse. Marketers should focus on creating effective marketing strategies and green promotional activities to attract customers for their green products. Marketers should control and enhance the quality of green products, as well as emphasizing their environmental satisfaction and increasing customer loyalty levels. This empirical study advanced marketers’ and policy makers’ understanding of the identification of customer environmental satisfaction as a mediator in the relationship between environmental friendliness of products and customer loyalty has been inspected in Malaysian context.     

Sustainable consumption: the effects of knowledge,cultural values,environmental advertising,and demographics

As a result of human lifestyles and unsustainable consumption patterns, the environment continues to deteriorate and thus inhibit sustainable development. In order to curb this situation and promote a sustainable economy, one of the solution is to reduce conventional products consumption and shift to green products. Over the past 20 years, marketing managers keenly seek to understand the green market; however, inadequate information on how to promote consumers’ green behavioral intentions is slowing the growth of green markets and becomes a barrier for firms when developing segments and communicating strategies for effective promotion of green products in countries like Malaysia where the trend is fairly new. Therefore, this study attempts to examine the impact of environmental knowledge, cultural values, and environmental advertising and determine the moderating effect of income level, education level, and gender on consumers’ green purchase intentions. A survey was administered, and a total of 405 valid questionnaires were obtained. Structural equation modeling technique was used to evaluate the causal model by using SmartPLS 2.0 software. The finding results suggest that cultural values and environmental advertising are the main influences in building green purchase intentions, while environmental knowledge is not significantly related. The results also indicate that education level and gender have a significant positive moderation effect while income did not. This suggests that green purchase intentions’ motivational factors are greater among highly educated individuals, with females in particular. The discussions and implications of these findings are further elaborated.     

Analysis of lead in tongkat Ali hitam herbal preparations in Malaysia

The DCA (Drug Control Authority), Ministry of Health, Malaysia implemented the phase three registration of traditional medicines on January 1st, 1992. As such, a total of 100 products in various pharmaceutical dosage forms of a herbal preparation obtained in Malaysia, containing tongkat Ali hitam, either single or combined preparations, were analyzed for the contamination of a heavy toxic metal, lead, using atomic absorption spectrophotometer, after performing a simple random sampling to enable each sample an equal chance of being selected in an unbiased manner. Results showed that 17% of these products contained 10.3–20.3?ppm of lead, and therefore, do not comply with the quality requirement for traditional medicines in Malaysia. The quality requirement for traditional medicines in Malaysia is not exceeding 10?ppm for lead. Out of these 17 products, 7 products have been registered with the DCA, Malaysia whilst the rest, however, have not registered with the DCA, Malaysia. Although this study showed that 83% of the products complied with the quality requirement for traditional medicines in Malaysia pertaining to lead, however, they cannot be assumed safe from lead contamination because of the risk of batch-to-batch variability.     

绿色消费认知和意愿的行为学调查与分析

绿色消费是解决当前中国环境污染的重要战略组成部分,本文研究了对上海市开展的关于绿色消费1200余份调查问卷。研究结果显示:1)人们环境意识和绿色消费意愿普遍提高,98%的受访者愿意为保护环境做出自身行为的改变。2)绿色消费认知参差不齐。对绿色产品的认知渠道不多,绿色产品的标签知晓率低于30%。3)绿色消费意愿强烈但支付能力还有限,82%的消费者愿意购买绿色产品,但支付不能超过同类普通商品10%的额外费用。研究结果还表明:绿色消费与性别、年龄、职业以及学历等具有相关关系。     

Warm glow from green power: Evidence from Australian electricity consumers

Green electricity products are increasingly made available to consumers in many countries in order to address a number of environmental and social concerns. Most of the literature on this green electricity market focuses on consumers’ characteristics and product attributes that could affect participation. However, the contribution of this environmental consumerism to the overall environmental good does not depend on participation alone. The real impact relies on market participation for green consumers (the proportion of green consumers) combined with the level of green consumption intensity – the commitment levels, or proportion of consumption that is green. We design an online interface that closely mimics the real market decision environment for electricity consumers in Western Australia and use an error component model to analyze consumers’ choice of green electricity products and their commitment levels. We show that product attributes have limited impact on the choice of green products; however, there is still great potential for better participation by improving the design of green electricity programs. When green products are selected, most respondents select the minimum commitment possible, and this is insensitive to the premium being charged on green power, suggesting that we are largely observing a buy-in ‘warm glow’ for carbon mitigation.     

Measurement of sustainability performance in Brazilian organizations

In recent years, sustainability issues are gaining greater prominence among organizations and their stakeholders around the world. This paper aims to verify the sustainability performance of Brazilian organizations in performance measures and to propose sustainable guidelines with the intention of directing future efforts to the transition to sustainable development. The research utilized a triangulated approach by collecting qualitative and quantitative data acquired through multiple collection methods of a theoretical literature review, documentary analysis of corporate reports, questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews with industry professionals and academic researchers. The results show that internal organizational factors are the main inductors of the sustainable environment in organizations, and sustainability must be tied to strategic planning, starting from upper management to lower levels. It is essential to use sustainable performance measurement systems in order to respond to external and internal levers and serve as benchmarking for future corporate operations and strategies. In addition, it is the responsibility of organizations to focus their efforts on environmental protection, reduction of energy, corporate reputation, quality management, customer satisfaction and investor relations, as they are considered to be more important and have a relationship of dependence on organizational sustainability. The findings will be of value to professionals and academics who want to start measuring and for continuously improving the sustainability performance of their organizations according to the technical, economic, environmental, social and governance dimensions. This research work also helps to understand the perceptions and expectations of stakeholders.     

Practices,attitudes and motives for domestic waste recycling

SUMMARY

Solid household waste management in Malaysia has reached a critical stage. Increasing population, urbanization and changing patterns of lifestyle have instigated the phenomenon. The 15 000 tonnes of garbage produced daily are thrown into 230 landfills nationwide, where 80% of them have only two years of life span left. Although recycling programmes were launched as early as 1990, only 5% of the wastes are recycled. The purpose of the present research was to ascertain the current management of household solid waste, attitude and motivational factors towards recycling. Data were collected using interview survey on 150 households in an urban residential area. The findings demonstrated that the respondents had very low awareness and knowledge regarding local domestic waste management. Separation of organic and non-organic wastes was rarely practised by 76% of the respondents. Most waste was thrown away, except for newspaper and aluminium cans which were regularly recycled, while furniture, and electrical items were reused by giving away or trading-in. The attitude of the respondents towards recycling was modest. Of the five motivational factors, intrinsic satisfaction and individual commitment were more important reasons for recycling than convenience, economic motivation and societal commitment. The results of the study indicated that, in order to overcome the solid waste crisis, the conscience of the individual needs to be raised through environmental awareness and concern, inculcation of sustainable consumption practices and education on waste management.     

Carbon taxation,OPEC and the end of oil

I develop a differential game between an oil cartel and an importer investing in research and development (R&D) to reduce the cost of a green substitute to oil. In equilibrium, the cartel is forced to deter the substitute, which thus imposes a price ceiling falling over time. Credible carbon taxes are below the Pigovian level, implying the importer cannot internalise the full pollution externality, much less capture resource rents. Without carbon pricing, the importer curtails long-run pollution using a costly R&D programme. Normatively, climate policy will be more expensive if relying on green R&D programmes only.     

机械产品的绿色设计技术

本文通过对机械绿色产品的定义及内涵的描述,提出了机械产品绿色设计的基本方法和绿色设计中的主要内容及技术关键.     

Nanoregulation along the product life cycle in the EU,Switzerland, Thailand,the USA,and intergovernmental organisations,and its compatibility with WTO law

Abstract

Due to vast research programmes of industrial countries during the last two decades, our knowledge about the intrinsic properties of nanomaterials has increased considerably. However, ‘nanoregulation’ lags behind this progress. Key elements of nanoregulation are definition/scope and safety/consumer information. Safety information along the nano life-cycle is vital for the nanoparticle producer down to the industrial downstream user (product producer). However, nanodeclaration (in the sense of a label on the product for consumers) is not yet widely spread, in different geographic regions for different reasons. This is a case study for the EU, Switzerland, Thailand, the USA, and Intergovernmental Organisations. In addition, this study investigates inter- and governmental activities and the relationship between nanodeclaration and WTO rules. Non-compliance with WTO rules is a pretext for not introducing nanodeclaration in products. It is concluded that WTO rules do not exclude nanodeclaration.     

Volume and financial value of species traded in the medicinal plant markets of Gauteng,South Africa

The demand for traditional medicinal plants and products in South Africa has created an extensive cross-border industry involving thousands of harvesters and traders. The market values of individual taxa vary considerably. Pricing structures fluctuate between markets and over time as the cost of harvesting species varies depending on a gatherer's access to the resources and the proximity of markets to the harvesting sites. This paper estimates trade values, describes the prices paid for 22 plant resources, investigates pricing structures relative to the mass/volume sold and the factors that influence the market price for plants. There is an inverse and disproportionate relationship between the price per kilogram (R/kg) and mass of the product sold. The smaller the quantity sold, the higher the R/kg sale values are relative to sales of larger quantities. This relationship is evident in different plant part types (e.g. bark and bulbs), species and markets (shops and street markets). Given the high mass sold relative to the price, bulbs, like bark, have the lowest R/kg values compared to other products like roots, fruits and leaves. The prices paid for heavier/denser species is thus disproportionate to the mass sold. If the relative values are used as an indicator of plant vulnerability (assuming high values indicate greater vulnerability), then bias is created in favour of 'lighter' and less dense plant parts typically sold in small quantities because of the nature of the plant part and the manner in which it is marketed and required by customers.     

Mercury concentrations in the surface sediments of the intertidal area along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia

Total mercury (Hg) levels in the intertidal surface sediments along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia were analysed by using heat vaporization method. Total Hg levels in these sediments ranged from 3.00 to 201?µg?kg^?1 dry weight with a mean concentration of 60.0?µg?kg^?1 dry weight. More than 90% of the samples studied have the total Hg concentrations less than 150?µg?kg^?1 dry weight. Compare with the regional data and sediment quality guidelines, the Hg contamination in the intertidal area along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia was not serious, except for a few sites that might have received anthropogenic Hg in the samples collected between 1999 and 2000. It is suggested that a similar study of heavy metals in the sediments of the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia be conducted regularly.     

Green markets, eco-certification, and equilibrium fraud

Consumers voluntarily pay significant price premiums to acquire unobservable environmental attributes in green markets. This paper considers the performance of eco-certification policy under circumstances where consumers cannot discern environmental attributes in goods, but are able to form rational expectations regarding the extent of illicit activities in the green market. The main results are: (i) fraud is less prevalent in green markets when entry barriers limit the number of firms; (ii) conventional environmental policies on polluting techniques increase the incidence of fraud, and can even preclude the use of non-polluting techniques which would otherwise emerge in green markets; (iii) voluntary eco-certification policies can decrease fraud, increase output, and raise profits per firm; and (iv) in cases where the socially optimal resource allocation can be supported, the optimal policy involves negative unit certification fees, positive fixed certification fees and is revenue-generating for the certifying agent.     

Is Scotland sustainable? A the series of indicators of sustainable development

Seven measures of sustainable development for Scotland are examined for the period 1980-1993. These measures are green net national product, genuine savings, ecological footprint, environmental space, human appropriation of net primary production, the index of sustainable economic welfare and the genuine progress indicator. Very different messages concerning sustainable development in Scotland emerge from these measures.     

Corporate governance and green innovation

We study the relationship between corporate governance and firms׳ environmental innovation. Exploiting changes in antitakeover legislation in the US, we show that worse governed firms generate fewer green patents relative to all their innovations. This negative effect is greater for firms with a smaller share of institutional ownership, with a smaller stock of green patents, and with more binding financial constraints. Investigating regulatory and industry variations, we also find more pronounced effects for firms operating in states with lower pollution abatement costs, and in sectors less dependent on energy inputs. Overall, our results suggest that ineffective corporate governance may constitute a major obstacle to environmental efficiency.     

Voluntary corporate environmental initiatives and shareholder wealth

Researchers debate whether environmental investments reduce firm value or actually improve financial performance. We provide some compelling evidence on shareholder wealth effects of membership in voluntary environmental programs (VEPs). Companies announcing membership in EPA's Climate Leaders, a program targeting reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, experience significantly negative abnormal stock returns. The price decline is larger in firms with poor corporate governance structures, and for high market-to-book (i.e., high growth) firms. However, firms joining Ceres, a program involving more general environmental commitments, have insignificant announcement returns, as do portfolios of industry rivals. Overall, corporate commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions appear to conflict with firm value maximization. This has important implications for policies that rely on voluntary initiatives to address climate change. Further, we find that firms facing climate-related shareholder resolutions or firms with weak corporate governance standards – giving managers the discretion to make such voluntary environmentally responsible investment decisions – are more likely to join Climate Leaders; decisions that may result in lower firm value.     

Green,greener, greenest: Eco-label gradation and competition

This paper analyzes two common features of markets in which eco-label programs certify that products are “green”: gradation—single programs offering multiple certification standards (e.g., platinum, gold, silver)—and competition—multiple programs vying to certify to their respective standards. We find that, depending on whether programs are sponsored by industry, environmental groups, or a government, they have strikingly different incentives to grade or compete. Industry sponsors are indifferent about both; environmentalist sponsors optimally grade or compete with other environmentalist sponsors only if consumer preferences for green consumption are skewed in a specific way; and government sponsors׳ decisions depend on the relative importance of private vs. public benefits generated by the green market. We find also that it is no accident that green markets frequently have an environmentalist program competing with an industry one. For each of the cases examined, our analysis is consistent with casual empirical evidence.     

Biomonitoring of heavy metal (Cd,Cu, Pb,and Zn) concentrations in the west intertidal area of Peninsular Malaysia by using Nerita lineata

Snails, Nerita lineata, were collected from 15 sites along the west intertidal area of Peninsular Malaysia from December 2005 until April 2006. The concentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) were determined in the total soft tissues, operculums, and shells of the snails. Different patterns of heavy metal distributions were found in the different tissues (shell, operculums, and soft tissues) as well as spatial variations of heavy metal concentrations in the snails. This shows that the distribution of metals in the shells and the total soft tissues of N. lineata were not similar which could be due to different rates of metal accumulation, excretion, and sequestration. Since N. lineata is abundant on the rocky shores, below jetties and mangrove trees along the west intertidal area of Peninsular Malaysia and accumulate heavy metals, the snails are therefore potential biomonitors of heavy metal contamination for the west intertidal area of Peninsular Malaysia.     

China's dairy crisis: impacts,causes and policy implications for a sustainable dairy industry

The dairy industry is an important part of the global economy, and the rapidly developing dairy enterprises in China have become increasingly important to the rest of the world. Due to increasing demand for dairy products and support from the government, China's dairy industry has thrived in recent decades. But rapid growth has been accompanied by a suite of industry/structural problems associated with raw milk supply, processing enterprises, product retailing and profit allocation. Thus, a major dairy crisis took place in 2008, triggered by a notorious melamine-contaminated milk event. The dairy crisis has had devastating impacts on China's dairy industry, negatively affecting farmers, consumers, processing enterprises and even government agencies. The Chinese government has developed rigorous measures to prevent future incidents of this sort, including the enactment of the Food Safety Law and reinstatement of the no-exemption quality inspection of food products. In this paper, we analyse the wide-ranging impacts and root causes of the recent dairy crisis in China. We also examine how the crisis has been handled and what measures have been put in place in its aftermath. Then we discuss policy implications for promoting the sustainability of China's dairy industry. Lessons learned from this crisis, as well as implications for policy improvements, should be valuable for the development of a sustainable dairy industry in other regions of the world.     

Durable goods and long-run electricity demand: Evidence from air conditioner purchase behavior

I estimate a dynamic structural model of demand for air conditioners, the most energy-intensive home appliance in the US. The model explores the links between demand for durable goods and expected changes in key attributes: energy efficiency and price. I incorporate expectations explicitly as a feature of the choice setting, and use parameter estimates from the model to calculate durable good demand elasticities with respect to energy efficiency, electricity price, and price of the durable itself. These estimates fill a large gap in the literature, and also shed light on consumer behavior in this setting. Results indicate that consumers are forward-looking and value the stream of future savings derived from energy efficiency.