ToSIA—A tool for sustainability impact assessment of forest-wood-chains

Within the forest sector, the sustainability concept has evolved from a narrow focus on sustainable wood production to a much broader evaluation of environmental, social, and economic sustainability for whole value chains. A new software tool - ToSIA - has been developed for assessing sustainability impacts of Forest-Wood-Chains (FWCs). In the approach, FWCs are defined as chains of production processes (e.g. harvesting-transport-industrial processing), which are linked with products (e.g. a timber frame house). Sustainability is determined by analysing environmental, economic, and social sustainability indicators for all the production processes along the FWC. The tool calculates sustainability values as products of the relative indicator values (i.e. indicator value expressed per unit of material flow) multiplied with the material flow entering the process. Calculated sustainability values are then aggregated for the segments of the FWC or for the complete chain. The sustainability impact assessment requires carefully specified system boundaries. ToSIA uses a data-oriented approach that is very flexible in the focus of the analysis and the selection of indicators of sustainability. An example of alternative Norway spruce management systems in Southern Germany and their effects on six sustainability indicators is presented. The less intensive management system with natural regeneration and motor-manual harvesting shows higher carbon storage and slightly less energy use. It creates more employment and higher labour costs, but the average rate of accidents is also higher. ToSIA offers a transparent and consistent methodological framework to assess sustainability impacts in the forest-based sector as affected, e.g. by changes in policies, market conditions, or technology. The paper discusses strengths and limitations of the approach and provides an outlook on further development perspectives of the methodology.     

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices developed by Brazilian companies: an exploratory study

In a world where companies have major influence over the economy, politics, and environment, they must be held accountable for their actions. With this in mind, the publication of sustainability reports is in a company’s best interest, since the disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainable practices can bring enormous advantages, largely related to a company’s image. The amount of information presented in sustainability reports turns them into valuable sources for research data, allowing analyses related to CSR and management practices, stakeholder relations, language used, among others. However, there is no a paper in the literature that analyzes theses information jointly for the Brazilian companies, and then we decided to explore this theme. This research aimed to identify advances and gaps of CSR practices performed by Brazil companies, through the analysis of 30 sustainability reports published between 2014 and 2015. The main findings indicate that, in general, the analyzed companies are experienced in sustainability reporting; however, there is still room for improvements, including a better mapping and reporting of practices involving the integration of CSR to organizational structure, stakeholder engagement, and continuous improvement practices.     

A regional-scale sustainable development index: the case of Baja California Sur,Mexico

Sustainable development, as a multi-dimensional concept, is difficult to measure. Some efforts using indicators and indices have appeared in recent years, but most were developed on a national scale. Use of sustainability indicators has proven valuable for attaining better management of the environment by minimizing information gaps and maximizing community capabilities in terms of economic, social, environmental, and institutional sustainability dimensions. However, at least in the case of developing countries, the potential exists that national sustainability measures, based on national level indicators, may mask problems in sub-national zones with highly unsustainable conditions. This paper proposes a methodology to evaluate sustainable development at a local level, the use of which could be helpful in comparing different regions within a country or even among different countries. National sustainability indicators should result from a combination (whether additive or proportional) of regional sustainability indicators, as developed in this paper.     

渤海中部油气开采区石油烃环境质量评价及源解析

对渤海中部油气开采区表层沉积物中的石油烃含量进行了环境质量评价,分析了正构烷烃和多环芳烃分子组成特征,并对其来源进行了解析.结果表明,石油类浓度为12.5-860 μg·g-1之间,污染指数为0.61-41.97;随着与采油平台距离的增加,平台周边海域石油烃含量和污染水平呈现降低的趋势;沉积物沉积时为缺氧还原的沉积环境.正构烷烃的分布特征和甾萜烷生物标志化合物表明,源自大陆高等植物和海洋浮游生物的烷烃共存于渤海近代沉积物中,石油类产品和化石燃料燃烧产物对其贡献不能忽视;石油平台站位PAHs主要来自石油的直接输入,其它站位主要来自燃烧源.     

Developing indicators for assessing land-use sustainability in a tropical agro-ecosystem: The case of Sakaekrang watershed,Thailand

While the concept of sustainable land management is now widely accepted, there remains considerable scope for developing location-specific land-use indicators for sustainability evaluation. A study was conducted to investigate the indicators of land-use sustainability in the context of tropical agro-ecosystems using the case of Sakaekrang watershed, Thailand. The biophysical data were generated from Geographic Information Systems (GIs) and the socioeconomic data were collected through a field survey. In the light of sustainable land management objectives, a total of 32 criteria were considered in the analysis to determine land-use sustainability and identify indicators that best explain the sustainability level. About one quarter of the agricultural area in the watershed meets the sustainability threshold, indicating a substantial unstable area in the watershed. Among 11 indicators that showed a significant relationship with the computed land-use sustainability, land quality, source of farm income, and evapo transpiration were the most important.     

A holistic approach to the development of sustainable agriculture: application of the ecosystem health model

Serious resource depletion has made sustainable agriculture an important and pressing issue for scientists, policy makers, and stakeholders worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Researchers have focused on methods to assess agriculture correctly, and to introduce sound solutions for sustainability, but have reached no agreement. In this paper, we introduce the theoretical framework of the agro-ecosystem health model, a new holistic approach, and apply it at a regional scale using four aspects (4S): sound structure, stable function, safe service, and sustainable development. We examine how 12 indicators of an agro-ecosystem health assessment (AHA) were selected using three dimensions based on this theoretical framework. In an AHA, we used an amoeba approach to examine a high-yield agro-ecosystem in Huantai County, Shandong Province, China. The results indicate that this model of ecosystem health can reflect the complex ecological, economic, and human conditions of an agro-ecosystem and evaluate these conditions using perspectives pertinent to system structure, function, and responses (services).     

The responses and prospects of sustainable development for Guangzhou and Hong Kong

The ability to achieve urban sustainability has become an indication of the competence of a municipal government aiming to gain world class status for the city. While both Guangzhou and Hong Kong are Chinese cities having their own formulation of urban sustainability, the implementation details and the actual sustainability blueprints are very different. As a result, the outcomes and prospects for urban sustainability are also different.

Hong Kong has adopted a less integrative and more institutionally-oriented approach for urban sustainability. Guangzhou has used the conventional approach to formulate an integrated sustainability programme for its local Agenda 21. Hong Kong's action plan emphasizes improving coordination, making objective assessments and achieving consistency in policy-making. Guangzhou, on the other hand, emphasizes the meeting of concrete environmental targets. Unfortunately, the new institutional arrangement and monitoring tools adopted by Hong Kong have not been able to achieve the original intent and neither is there the intention to go too far beyond the weak sustainability approach. On the contrary, Guangzhou has planned and attempted to incorporate industrial ecology in its development regime while heavily investing into pollution control programmes and pushing forward a green community programme at the grass-roots level.     

工业废弃地再开发的可持续性评价方法回顾

可持续发展取得共识后,可持续性评价工具大量出现,工业废弃地再开发中也广泛应用.根据对可持续性理解的不同,工业废弃地再开发的可持续性评价方法可以分为目标驱动型和过程驱动型两大类型:目标驱动型往往扩展为"目标-指标评价法",而且根据目标的差异,可以分为单项和综合方法,后者可分为制度性和参与性框架,参与性框架又可以分为自上而下型和自下而上型;过程驱动型包括SEA驱动型和EIA驱动型,前者往往与相关的土地规划有关,后者通常以项目为基础.总之,工业废弃地再开发可持续性评价方法的演进与其基础理论演变和社会变化有密切关系,一方面日益与开发和决策过程相结合,另一方面也更加关注公共参与.借鉴各国工业废弃地可持续再开发的经验,把握可持续性评价的发展趋势,将促进我国城市土地资源的可持续利用,有利于构建"资源集约型"、"环境友好型"的循环型社会.     

天津生态城市建设现状定量评价

天津市于1996年将建设生态城市的思想体现在城市的总体规划中,又在2001年将建设生态城市的目标落实于笔端,体现在天津市经济与社会发展中（“十五”规划）。采用适合评价天津市生态城市建设的数学模型对天津城市生态系统进行现状定量分析,其中指标涉及经济发展,社会现状,生态环境3方面的内容,得出天津市城市生态化水平,从而促进天津市生态城市建设,为确定天津市生态城市建设模式提供科学依据。