Drivers and barriers to engage enterprises in environmental management initiatives in Suzhou Industrial Park, China

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in sustainable development not only for their significant contribution to China’s economy, but also for their large share of total discharged pollutants. Therefore, this research takes the enterprises in Suzhou Industrial Park, China as the case study to investigate the environmental management practices of SMEs, and identify drivers and barriers to engaging businesses in environmental management initiatives. It is shown that, as in other countries, SMEs are less active in adopting environmental management initiatives than larger companies. Legislation remains the key driver to engage SMEs in environmental management initiatives. Based on the analysis, policy recommendations are also presented.     

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.     

Incentives and barriers to environmental inequality mobilization: A case-study analysis in Wallonia,Belgium

Environmental inequality scholarship has sought to shed light on the unequal environmental conditions borne by poor people and racial minorities, and to challenge public policies. Most studies are concerned either with assessing the unequal distribution of environmental amenities and disamenities or with exploring the theoretical foundations of environmental justice movements.We propose an original approach to environmental inequality, focused not only on the unequal distribution of environmental burdens but also on two other types of factors: the capacity to mobilize and engage in community organizations on the one hand and the spatial dimension of environmental inequalities on the other.The evidence for this study is from an opinion survey carried out in 2012 with 1298 individuals. We use a two-step cluster analysis method to compute a classification system based on four categories of variables: socio-economic, environmental, spatial, and social capital.     

Qualitative evaluation of three ‘environmental management systems’ in the New Zealand wine industry

The wine growing industry is increasingly important to the New Zealand economy and increasingly its marketing is associated with the country's ‘clean and green’ image. Over 60% of New Zealand's wine companies have adopted at least one of three main environmental management systems: Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand, ISO 14001 and Bio-Gro. We undertook a qualitative, survey based, comparative evaluation of these systems within 15 wine companies. The key findings are that while each system appears to have its own strengths, in general, no one environmental management system is better than the other. However, implementation of an industry specific system, for example SWNZ, in combination with a generic process-based system, for example ISO 14001, aids in the development of a more sustainable wine industry.     

Mining life cycle modelling: a cradle-to-gate approach to environmental management in the minerals industry

It is common practise in mining Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies to use a predefined set of data to represent mining production systems. Besides this, very little is added to improve data quality, and essential mining process details which affect the ultimate environmental impacts is rarely taken into account. Some significant omissions include exploration and development work, mining method used, production, ore losses, location and the mining/processing method dependent factors that govern the nature of discharges to the environment. The mining system is often represented as a black-box, not lending itself to the interpretation of different processes used in minerals production. The generic data used are often inadequate for a mining LCA, and cannot be used as an accurate account of mining environmental burdens contributing to more complex systems “down-stream”, such as metals, building, chemical or food industries. Therefore, the main objective of the mining LCA model presented in this paper was to develop a tool that is able to represent the mining system in a comprehensive way. To attain this objective, the mining system was studied in more detail, as it is commonly practised during mine feasibility and design stages. It (LICYMIN) was developed as part of an international research project led by Imperial College London. The model integrates the mine production, processing, waste treatment and disposal, rehabilitation and aftercare stages of a mine's life within an LCA framework. The development work was carried out in collaboration with several industrial partners in Europe, including Bakonyi Bauxitbánya Kft. in Hungary. The model structure, database development and examples of field applications from industrial sites are presented.     

石化企业突发环境风险评价与分级方法研究

为了降低环境污染事故发生频率,急需建立科学高效的环境风险管理体系,而环境风险评估与分级技术是进行环境风险分级管理的前提和基础.本研究在对石化企业环境风险特征分析的基础上,构建了基于危险物质、生产工艺、设备设施、企业管理、企业布局的石化企业突发环境风险综合评价指标体系,并建立了相应的风险评价模型.同时,提出了4级风险分级管理体系,并在此基础上以长江下游某化工园区为例进行研究.结果表明,在园区30家石化企业中,存在特大环境风险的企业有1家,重大环境风险的企业2家,占企业总数的10%.本研究提出的石化企业风险评价指标体系及评价、分级方法科学可行,能够为石化企业风险管理提供决策依据.     

Stakeholders and environmental management systems: a synergistic influence on environmental imbalance

This article analyzes the combined effects of stakeholder pressure and the implementation of environmental management systems on organizations’ environmental behaviors. Beyond their individual effects, the implementation of an environmental management system should enhance the effect of stakeholder pressure on environmental imbalance, defined as the divergence between what the organization does and what it should do. Information collected from 3748 industrial plants in seven countries provides empirical evidence that supports the study propositions. Therefore, this study contributes to both the debate about the effectiveness of environmental management systems and the effort to explain the complex relationship between organizations and their stakeholders in environmental matters.     

Product-service systems in the automotive industry: the case of micro-factory retailing

Solutions to the economic and environmental impacts of the automotive industry have largely focused on technological innovation at the level of products or processes. This paper argues that, in order to achieve sustainability, change processes must be undertaken at the functional and systemic level.The concept of product-service systems (PSS) represents a valuable opportunity to introduce such changes. PSS is predicated on new forms of product ownership, stewardship, design and producer–consumer interaction. The challenge now is to investigate ways in which the PSS concept might be introduced at the empirical level.The paper suggests that the adoption of micro-factory retailing (MFR) ideas offer a means of introducing such a system-level change in the automotive industry. MFR is based on novel approaches to vehicle design that facilitate the economic viability of small-scale localised manufacturing sites. It is argued that such an approach to vehicle production, allows the adoption of a full scale PSS at local levels. Furthermore, via aspects such as the unification of the commerce and manufacturing function, and the proximity of manufacturing and servicing sites to users, the MFR approach may also offer distinct advantages compared with prevailing visions of PSS.     

Water environmental planning and management at the watershed scale: A case study of Lake Qilu, China

Water environmental planning and management has become essential for guiding the water pollution control activities. Past water pollution control activities have been site specific, with little thought on water quality standard reaching at the watershed scale. Based on the watershed approach, a seven-step methodological framework for water environmental planning and management was developed. The framework was applied to water environmental planning and management of the Lake Qilu watershed in Yunnan Province, China. Results show that the reduction amount of total nitrogen (TN) under the plan is 1,205 tons per year so that the target of environmental capacity can be reached in 2020. Compared with traditional methods, the framework has its prevalence and could be generalized to analogous watersheds.     

Analysis of the benefits and challenges of implementing environmental regulatory programmes for mining: Tanzania case study

All mining activities in Tanzania are regulated according to the Mining Act, 1998, and associated regulations. The enactment of the 1998 mining legislation and thus the repeal of the 1979 Act was a result of the overall restructuring of the country's economy. In order to encourage the private sector to take a leading role in economic development, the Government identified priority segments of the economy, which included the mining sector. With the mining sector identified as one of the priority sectors, it was thought imperative to put in place a transparent and competitive legal and regulatory framework, an effective and conducive fiscal regime, and an environmental framework. A new Mining Act, which incorporated the mining legal and regulatory, fiscal and environmental frameworks, was enacted in August 1998. The Act was then equipped with the regulations which provide clear guidance for administration and enforcement.Since the enactment of Tanzania's new mining legislation, the mineral sector has been the fastest growing sector of the economy, which has posed numerous managerial challenges. This paper discusses the benefits of the current environmental legislation and the challenges facing the Government in meeting the demands of a rapidly expanding mining sector. The paper examines the institutional set-up, its capacity to execute tasks (financial, technical, working facilities, etc.), the roles played by related institutions in managing the mining sector, and the interaction between mining and other sectors of the economy.     

Translating soil science into environmental policy: A case study on implementing the EU soil protection strategy in The Netherlands

The EU Commission has proposed a way forward towards a Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection based on the distinction of seven soil functions and eight threats. A Technical Working Group on Research defined some 200 general priority research areas in the context of the dynamic DPSIR approach considering drivers, pressures, states, impacts and responses. Though quite valuable as a source document, this may be too generic and academic to be a starting point for new, effective soil research in different regions of the EU. A six-step storyline procedure is therefore proposed aimed at deriving effective operational procedures for a water management unit in a given region, using available soil expertise and defining new research only where needed. The procedure, that was illustrated for a Dutch case study, consists of defining: (i) water management units (wmu's) in a landscape context; (ii) land-use, area hydrology and soil functions (iii) soil threats and relevant soil qualities; (iv) drivers of land-use change and their future impact; (v) improvement of relevant soil qualities; (vi) possibilities to institutionalize soil quality improvement as part of the EU soil protection strategy. A focus on regional wmu's is likely to result in a strong commitment of local stakeholders and governmental officials, allowing a more specific DPSIR approach. But this will only work if local officials also receive legal powers to develop and enforce codified ‘good practices’, to be developed in the context of communities of practice. Innovative research topics can be derived from a combined analysis of experiences within different communities of practice in different wmu's and should not be left to researchers to define.     

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.     

Technology-based industrial environmental management: a case study of electroplating in Shenzhen,China

Severe industrial pollution has largely hindered the sustainable development of China. Taking Shenzhen’s electroplating industry as a case, this article investigates the current status of the industry and proposes a specialized policy framework to push its environmental innovation. There is a relatively complete environmental management system in Shenzhen’s government, but it does not work well when dealing with the electroplating industry, mainly because it lacks regulation aiming at production technology, which is the underlying decisive factor of the environmental performance of the industry. So, we first develop an evaluation criterion, which incorporates a technological index about whether enterprises engage identified obsolete technologies. With this evaluation criterion, enterprises are classified into “advanced” and “obsolete”. Then, we propose specific policy suggestions for different types of enterprises, including command and control mixed with economic tools, voluntary agreements, establishing electroplating parks, and improving current management system. Finally, we assess the impact of the policy proposal and prove it to be conducive to the sustainable development of the industry and conclude it from a more general perspective.     

Adapting food systems of the Indo-Gangetic plains to global environmental change: key information needs to improve policy formulation

The Indo-Gangetic plain (IGP; including regions of Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh) is generally characterised by fertile soils, favourable climate and an abundant supply of water. Nevertheless, the challenge of increasing food production in the IGP in line with demand grows ever greater; any perturbation in agriculture will considerably affect the food systems of the region and increase the vulnerability of the resource-poor population. Increasing regional production is already complicated by increasing competition for land resources by non-agricultural sectors and by the deterioration of agri-environments and water resources. Global environmental change (GEC), especially changes in climate mean values and variability, will further complicate the agricultural situation and will therefore, have serious implications for food systems of the region. Strategies to reduce the vulnerability of the region's food systems to GEC need to be based on a combination of technical and policy options, and developed in recognition of the concurrent changes in socioeconomic stresses. Adaptation options need to be assessed with regard to their socioeconomic and environmental efficacy, but a greater understanding of the interactions of food systems with GEC is needed to be able to do this with confidence. This paper discusses information needs relating to resource management and policy support to guide the development of research planning for increasing the robustness of IGP food systems to GEC. Further information is needed to develop a range of adaptation strategies including augmenting production and its sustainability, increasing income from agricultural enterprises, diversification from rice–wheat systems, improving land use and natural resource management, and instigating more flexible policies and institutions.     

基于环保投入的区域环保产业发展空间均衡性分析

环保产业是我国战略性新兴产业的重要内容,近年来环保产业发展呈现高速增长的态势,年均增长率达30%以上,各地也将环保产业作为新的经济增长点.通过对基尼系数内涵的扩展,提出了环保产业发展基尼系数的概念.本文计算了中国2004年和2011年环保产业发展基尼系数,提出了以产业贡献系数作为判断均衡的因子.结果表明,中国环保产业基尼系数近年来呈上升态势,分别为0.35和0.42,说明环保产业空间分布变化较大,产业分布更加趋于集中.基于产业贡献系数分析,结合各地区环保投入力度及需求,提出了发展环保产业的重点地区与策略.     

合成树脂行业固体废物产生节点及环境管理分析

2020年9月1日修订实施的《中华人民共和国固体废物污染环境防治法》在工业固体废物管理中强化了企业自主管理,并提出全过程管理要求。合成树脂行业在我国工业领域中占有重要位置,从事生产的企业以大型石化企业为主,其有能力也有责任科学管理固体废物,以实现固体废物无害化、减量化、资源化。阐述了合成树脂行业中聚乙烯、聚丙烯和聚氯乙烯的生产工艺过程和生产环节特点,详细介绍了固体废物的产生节点、废物属性及管理措施,对所产生的固体废物进行分类梳理,总结企业固体废物处理处置措施,并针对合成树脂行业固体废物产生现状提出管理建议,以期为我国危险废物环境管理及《国家危险废物名录》动态修订提供科学依据,也为企业自主管理方式提供指导方向。     

Integration of standardized environmental and quality management systems audits

In the last few years, many organizations have chosen to implement standardized Management Systems (MSs), such as the ones based on ISO 14001 and ISO 9001. However, few studies exist on how firms carry out the process of auditing these MSs.Our goal is to study how companies with more than one standardized MSs conduct the audits and to which extent they integrate the audit elements in order to benefit from the advantages of having a sole, integrated audit system.We provide four case studies and confirm the idea that firms with more than one MS integrate their audits. However, the degree and specific characteristics of this integration vary in the different companies analyzed.This paper contains one of the first qualitative empirical studies regarding the integration of MSs audits. The study provides an original contribution to the understanding of whether and how the four case study organizations have integrated certain aspects of the audit systems, for instance, the human resources, time, and audit inputs and outputs.     

国土空间规划体系下的全域环境空间管控研究——以苏州市为例

立足新时期国土空间规划体系强化全域环境空间管控,推动各类环境要素管控分区降尺度与融合化,实现环境污染源头管控与精准落地,是系统应对当前高强度、复合型环境问题的有效途径.构建基于国土空间规划的全覆盖、多层级环境功能分区管控体系,在单要素人为污染物排放量和综合排放强度评价基础上,提出环境功能分区的管控等级集成评价模型,探索分区管理和分级施策的全域环境空间管控途径,并以高度工业化和城市化的苏州市为案例开展应用研究.结果表明：①基于国土空间规划体系的"三区三线"与现行环境要素管控分区的空间耦合性,建立由8个一级分区和21个二级分区构成的环境功能分区管控体系;②按照"三区三线"管控属性和综合排放强度,可进一步将环境功能分区的管控等级由高至低划分为Ⅴ、Ⅳ、Ⅲ、Ⅱ、Ⅰ及○级;③苏州市人为污染物排放量总体偏大,城镇空间内的工矿业生产空间及城乡居住空间、农业空间内的生产养殖空间的综合排放强度较高,主要分布于姑苏、虎丘等中心城区及昆山、常熟等工业集聚区;④苏州市Ⅴ级和Ⅳ级管控区以工矿业生产空间、城乡居住空间和特殊生产空间为主,Ⅲ级管控区以混合空间为主,Ⅱ级以农业种植空间和生产养殖空间为主,Ⅰ级和○级管控区主要包括一般生态空间和生态保护红线.案例应用表明,国土空间规划体系下的全域环境空间管控可操作性强,可实现环境规制精准落实到污染源空间;建议以环境功能分区分级管控体系为基础,将环境空间管控全面融入国土空间规划体系,建立综合施策的环境协同管理机制.