Does the GreenWatch program work? Evidence from a developed area in China

The GreenWatch program has been implemented nationally in China. However, whether the program and its process have been effective in improving firms' environmental performance remains unclear. Based on the stakeholder theory, this paper conducts a comparative analysis between firms participating in the program and those that do not, all of which are based in Changshu City in the developed part of Jiangsu Province, China. Data suggest that GreenWatch encourages firms to improve and disclose their environmental performance. Through pressures imposed by different stakeholders—from the government, investors, and consumers, to the public, such as the community and media—this program has become the main driving force for improving the firms' environmental performance. The current study also provides substantial evidence that public disclosure in China opens up channels for effective public participation. Therefore, the GreenWatch program deserves to be promoted in China.     

Cleaner production in Danish fish processing – experiences,status and possible future strategies

Danish fish processing industry has been one of the pioneers regarding implementation of cleaner production and environmental management systems. This article describes the experiences with cleaner production (CP) among leading Danish industries producing pickled herring and canned mackerel. The article emphasizes two case studies of ‘first mover’ companies, but data from other ‘proactive’ companies are also included.The article provides an overview of different types of CP solutions, improvement potentials, synergistic effects and possible trade-offs. The development of the applied solutions from the late 1980s until today are analysed and recommendations to future strategies at company level and policy level are provided.It is concluded that significant environmental improvements have been obtained for the analysed companies – especially concerning reductions in water consumption, wastewater emissions, and utilisation of fish ‘waste’ for valuable by-products. Still, more focus could be placed on the reduction of energy consumption, change of packaging types, and environmental impacts in other stages of the products life cycle.Authorities and companies have mainly focused on on-site reductions of wastewater emissions, but life cycle assessments show that more attention should be given to the reductions of environmental impacts in other parts of the product chain, e.g. fishing operations and transport as well.     

Lessons from the French experience with voluntary agreements for greenhouse-gas reduction

The paper analyses the French experience with voluntary agreements (VAs) for the reduction of industrial greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. It is based on evidence from two case studies: the VAs signed by the main aluminium producer and by the packaging glass industry association. The analysis suggests that the considerable reductions in specific GHG emissions can hardly be seen as a direct consequence of the VA commitments. Instead they seem to have been triggered by other environmental regulations, and above all, by industry's heavy investments in technology modernisation and cost reduction efforts. Therefore, the observed reduction in specific emissions appears to correspond to industry's business-as-usual behaviour, suggesting that VA objectives were poorly ambitious. These results appear consistent with other VA evaluations. In the French GHG-related VAs, the failure to achieve more ambitious goals appears to result from the lack of a well-articulated policy-mix involving the VAs for GHG policy and energy efficiency promotion, as well as from policymakers' concerns over the potential competitive impact of GHG policy. The question of how to provide incentives for more ambitious GHG reductions without a high impact on firms' competitiveness remains a challenge for future policy.     

Promoting factors and early indicators of a successful product panel

Product panels are presented as a promising method to find solutions for environmental problems arising from specific product groups. These panels consist of representatives of manufacturers, retail, research, environmental and consumer administration, recycling, and various other stakeholders who work together in the panel to draft plans of action aiming at improvements in the environmental characteristics of products and services, and promotion for environmentally sound products and services in the various markets.The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that promote successful panel work as based on the experiences from the Danish and Finnish product panels. In addition, we aim at finding several indicators in panel work that can help lead to successful results already in the early phase and, on the other hand, help to recognize panels that will be ineffective from the viewpoint of environmental policy. We also describe how the findings from the Danish and Finnish textile panels were applied to a new product panel in Finland dealing with furniture and how this panel has started its work.The paper is based on existing material about the three panels, including reports and websites of the Danish product panels and the Finnish Furniture panel. In addition, unpublished memos of the meetings of the three panels have been studied. An evaluation report of the Danish panels was very useful for the discussion of the findings. The authors have also participated in the furniture panel as a member and a secretary.Experiences from the Danish textile panel and some early results of the Finnish furniture panel indicate that, under the right conditions, gathering stakeholders from the whole product chain and administration into a panel can be an efficient way to promote the market for greener products and thus, can serve as a tool for integrated product policy. Key success factors include the basic idea, committed people and openness of the product panels. It is also important that the initiator give some guidance in the form of schedule, action plan and some preset objectives.     

Functional mechanisms of mandatory corporate environmental disclosure: an empirical study in China

This paper analyzes the functions of a government-oriented disclosure program in China, which rates company environmental performance into five colors and discloses the results to the public. The rating results and their annual changes during 2005–2007 are statistically summarized by using the detailed database provided by municipal environmental protection bureau of the study area: Changshu city in Jiangsu province. The reflexive, deterrent and enhancement mechanisms, preliminarily identified for the disclosure program, are qualitatively evaluated by using the information collected by onsite interviews to 32 program participating firms. In overall, the firms' environmental performances have been improved. The companies with worse rating records would be more likely to improve their environmental performances in the following years. The disclosure program encourages the firms to be more reflexive to their internal environmental problems. The deterrent and enhancement functions of the program are weak due to the marginal pressure from the classified stakeholders such as investors, business partners and creditors. The influence of the public, such as neighboring communities and environmental NGOs, is weak too. Encouraging serious reactions of firm's stakeholders to the disclosed rating results should be addressed in order to enhance the effectiveness of the disclosure strategy.     

Cross-cultural education for sustainability: development of an introduction to sustainability course

This paper reports on Ball State University's activities in the area of education for sustainability and current activities to develop an Internet-based Introduction to Sustainability course. As the course will be Internet-based, it will mesh well with and can serve as the introductory course in the sustainability curriculum of Ball State University Land Design Institute's international network of Sustainability Consortia, and can be used in sustainability education programs within the context of other international partnerships. This course will serve as a foundation for that effort and for a broader curriculum that can be delivered across cultures. Ball State University's Clustered Minors in Environmentally Sustainable Practices utilizes three courses to address the social, environmental, and economic aspects of sustainability: environmental ethics; ecology; and environmental economics. The intention is to compose a course comprising elements from all three dimensions. The course will include Internet content and assignments and will exploit the emerging ability for Internet-based teleconferencing for real-time interactions among students and faculty at diverse international sites.     

Energy and environmental attitudes in the green state of Denmark: Implications for energy democracy,low carbon transitions,and energy literacy

This article investigates how a mix of energy-users from Denmark perceives energy and environmental issues such as the affordability of electricity and gasoline, the seriousness of climate change, and preferences for different energy systems. Its primary source of data is a pilot survey and energy literacy test distributed in English and Danish to 328 respondents spread across the country. The survey results are used to test four propositions about energy prices, being “green,” public knowledge and competence about energy issues, and self-sufficiency and sustainable technology. The data supports the propositions that Danes identify with “being green” and prefer national and local policies that endorse sustainable technology and being self-sufficient. However, the data also challenges the propositions that Danes would prioritize low energy prices and affordability as key energy concerns and that they are knowledgeable about energy and environmental issues. In this way, a problematic gap may exist between what many academic articles (and previous surveys) report Danish attitudes to be and what this study suggests they are. Given Denmark's ambitious low-carbon goals, these findings have clear relevance to other communities and countries seeking to decarbonize their own energy sectors.     

Efficiency gains within firms under voluntary environmental initiatives

This paper focuses on efficiency gains that voluntary environmental initiatives may achieve within the firm. Current debate concerning the extent and significance of inefficiencies within firms is critically important to the progress of energy and environmental policies.Several recent lines of inquiry in microeconomics help explain the persistence of inefficiencies within firms. In addition, two of the most prominent new approaches in the field of business strategy — resource-based strategy and the “capabilities perspective” — focus on the heterogeneity among firms and the resulting pockets of inefficiency within firms. They suggest at least three generic strategies for voluntary environmental initiatives — challenging outdated organizational routines, creating opportunities for differentiation, or complementing firms' resource investment trajectories. These generic approaches suggest that there is considerable scope for further experimentation with voluntary environmental initiatives.     

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.     

Environmental indicators for small and medium enterprises in the Philippines: An empirical research

Environmental indicators allow a firm to make measurements related to its environmental performance. In practical terms, they can be used to form a measuring, benchmarking and monitoring tool to track environmental performance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).Within an Environmental Management System (EMS), environmental indicators can be used to check if a firm has met the targets it is required to set for itself. It can also be used in firms that have not yet implemented an EMS. The use of an Environmental Indicators System (EIS) is thus recommended for SMEs, many of which do not have an EMS, in order to enhance their environmental performance. As noted in A Guide to Corporate Environmental Indicators published by the Federal Environment Ministry (Bonn) and the Federal Environmental Agency (Berlin), three categories of environmental indicators can be developed, depending on whether they describe: (1) a company's environmental impact (environmental performance); (2) the management's environmental activities; or (3) the external condition of the company's environment.The objective of this paper is to present how environmental indicators were established and implemented for Philippine SMEs and to show that the indicators significantly correlate with the environmental performance of the SMEs. In order to test this hypothesis, a survey-questionnaire was designed and administered among SMEs covering six industrial sectors in the Philippines. Based on the survey responses, a Gap analysis between the environmental performances of SMEs and state-of-the-art companies was performed. The Gap analysis showed that environmental indicators were indeed able to capture the features of actual environmental performance.Further, a structural equation model was proposed and validated. It yielded a significant linkage between the environmental indicators and environmental performance.     

The role and implementation of LCA within life cycle management at Alcan

Life cycle management (LCM) aims at expanding the scope of the environmental management system of a company to address the up- and downstream impacts associated with the activities of its suppliers and customers. It is based on a perspective that focuses on products and the corresponding processes in addition to facilities and production sites. Therefore, the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology plays a central role in implementing LCM. At Alcan, one of the world's leading producers of aluminum materials and products, as well as composite components and packaging solutions, LCA as a core element of LCM is being used for a variety of applications. In order to achieve the objectives of LCM and to ensure efficient decision support, the LCAs are performed in a simplified mode. Simplifications predominantly concern up- and downstream processes outside of Alcan's direct control as well as impact assessment procedures, the reuse of internal life cycle inventory analysis modules, and the aggregation and presentation of the results for top-management and other internal decision-makers. A recently completed LCA from the automotive sector demonstrates the ongoing implementation of LCA at Alcan.     

A game theory framework for cooperative management of refillable and disposable bottle lifecycles

Firms engaged in industrial ecology hope to reduce environmental impacts and costs, improve resource efficiency, and create symbiotic relationships that reduce transaction costs and enhance information flow. However, current LCA tools do not explain firms' incentives to implement the principles of industrial ecology, or how an individual or firm can affect the products and processes at other firms. Game theory, on the other hand, allows investigation of the willingness of producers and consumers to seek strategies that promote the common interest of the system while not harming their own interests. This paper applies game theory to the lifecycle of bottle packaging, and presents a framework for analysis of the choice between refillable and disposable bottles. Although refillable bottles may be more cost effective in the long run, bottlers only have incentive to use refillable bottles when they are sure that consumer return rates will be reasonably high. It has been found that consumers who keep or dispose of refillable bottles, or respond to deposit/refund return incentives by reducing their demand, may drive costs up and encourage adoption of disposables. A simple model is provided which finds the optimal bottler strategy as a function of the bottler's expectations for consumer cooperation.     

Pro-active behaviour induction by integration of sustainability in business strategic management: INOVE project case study

INOVE was a regional partnership project and had two main goals: finding and helping to implement solutions for real business problems, in order to increase their competitiveness according to sustainable development; and dissemination of new concepts, methodologies and tools of sustainability. Members of the partnership were: INETI, CEISET, eight companies, a polytechnic institute and a university.Knowledge transfer was implemented during 15 workshops and simultaneously was put in practice on companies' sites by mixed teams.Economic indicators were definitely positive; environmental indicators such as materials, water and energy consumption, waste generation and liquid and gaseous emissions were improved and social issues such as stakeholders' information and involvement were introduced into the business strategy of the companies.     

浅析煤矿类项目的环境影响及其防治对策

由于煤炭在各种工业民用中的重要作用,我国对于煤炭的依赖程度比较高。但是在煤矿类项目的各个环节中,会产生多方面的环境问题,对于这些环境问题的处理尤为重要。文章着重讨论了煤矿类项目造成的环境问题及其解决方案,另外阐述了现今我国对于这方面的一些措施及缺陷,并提出了一些这方面的建议。     

Consistency and comparability of estimation and accounting of removal by sinks in afforestation/reforestation activities

The Kyoto Protocol accounting system and its market mechanisms, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI), are built on the key principle that emission and emission reduction units generated by afforestation/reforestation activities under national systems and projects are fully comparable, no matter their origin. Lack of consistency in the quality of emission and emission reduction units can undermine the environmental integrity of the climate stabilization actions. Therefore, it is the ambition that units generated in the land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector are of similar quality with those from non-LULUCF sectors. In this paper, the authors pose the question of whether there is full estimation and accounting consistency between Annex I Party’s national GHG systems and CDM projects methodologies in the LULUCF sector, in terms accuracy, completeness, levels of uncertainty and permanence risk. We focus on methodological aspects related to the applicability and practicability of using approved afforestation/reforestation CDM methodologies; estimation, reporting and accounting rules; the small pools and sources issue, uncertainty of removal estimate; leakage and handling of non-permanence risk. We conclude that there is significant scope for improving the consistency of greenhouse gas emission accounting from land use activities in the post-2012 climate change agreement, between Annex I domestic and project activities. As well, we conclude that the preparation and implementation of project activities has to be made simpler by a project framework guideline, which is then adapted to any project circumstances.     

Eco-design implemented through a product-based environmental management system

Lucent Technologies (Lucent) has undergone considerable change in business strategy with the outsourcing of manufacturing activities. In order to control the significant environmental aspects of hardware products, Lucent's wireless business unit, Mobility Solutions, determined it would concentrate on the design of products: focusing on eco-design enables product sustainability to be improved, with each product generation providing a ‘start of pipe’ (front end) solution with attendant efficiencies.Mobility Solutions pioneered a product-based environmental management system (PBEMS) to formally address the impacts of wireless hardware products on the environment throughout the entire product lifecycle, regardless of where products are developed. This management system looks beyond the environmental impacts of manufacturing to include conceptual design, development, use by the customer, and final product disposal.The success of this approach can be attributed to the integration of eco-design with traditional hardware product realization processes. Through the PBEMS, business and environmental processes are simultaneously utilized to manage significant product aspects and to incorporate sustainability principles during product design. Many innovative eco-design tools are applied during the product realization process to identify areas for improvement of future products, and to verify that each generation of existing products is more sustainable than its predecessor. These eco-design tools include eco-roadmapping, design for environment guidelines and checklists, and lifecycle assessments.The Mobility Solutions PBEMS conforms to the requirements of the ISO 14001 international standard and has achieved third-party certification. By implementing environmentally responsible characteristics through eco-design programs, employees, customers, and the world community benefit from a consistent approach to the environmental management of wireless hardware products. Mobility Solutions continues to reap the value of sustainable product design that is both good for the environment and makes sound business sense.     

The social and environmental costs associated with water management practices in state environmental protection projects in Xinjiang,China

Since the late 1970s the central government of China has initiated several ecological environmental protection projects. The most significant of these has been the tui geng huan lin (returning cultivated land to forest and pasture) project in operation since the late 1990s. China's northwest region is characterized by lack of water resources, yet such resources are of vital importance. There is scant discussion in the literature (including in China) on the linkages between the environmental protection projects and water management practices. This paper analyses how central government environmental protection projects are interpreted in the local setting, and how local water management policies and practices correspond to the projects. The conclusion is that local water management policies and practices are interlinked with both central government and local government policies on the environmental protection projects, and a new process for the redistribution of water has been established. When equity and social costs are not factored into the planning of new environmental protection projects, the social costs may be as high as the environmental costs.     

增强环保科技创新能力支撑环境管理决策:需求·挑战·对策

新时代我国环境保护形势面临着深刻变化,满足人民群众日益增长的对优质生态产品需求成为环保工作的主要矛盾.为落实党的十九大关于生态文明建设和环境保护的要求,牢固把握"环保科技的人民性",在对未来环境形势和环保科技创新需求分析判断的基础上,紧密围绕绿色发展和环境质量改善的目标,提出了加强环保科技创新发展的4个重点任务:面向国民经济绿色发展主战场,全面提升环保科技供给能力和水平;加强环境科学基础研究,引领环境质量改善;研发关键技术,突破环境治理技术瓶颈;加大生态系统保护力度,推进人与自然和谐共生.同时,提出了完善环保科技创新体制机制的5点建议:实施平台化、国际化、产业化、规范化、信息化管理,助推现代环境科研院所制度建设;加快环保科技创新体系建设,完善和补强科技创新链条;完善管理决策支撑机制,解决科研与管理脱节的问题;统筹全国环境科研力量,创新重大科研项目组织模式;加强人才队伍建设,充分调动人才创新活力,为环保科技创新提供政策和制度保障.      

强化建设项目环境管理,促进工业污染源防治工作

总结了十年来上海市贯彻执行建设项目环境管理工作的基本经验和做法，介绍了在建设项目审批过程中如何坚持执法把关，依照规划合理局面，“以新带老”解决工业污染源防治工作，促进经济与环境协调发展。     

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.