Implementing design for environment at AT&T

The quality revolution is sweeping its way through most companies globally. It has focused on improving the quality of products and services delivered to the customers and on companies' internal processes. The success of these programs has led to the realization that the same principles need to be applied to the area of environmental management. AT&T has fully embraced TQM as witnessed by the many products and services that have received the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9000 certification and awards such as the Malcolm Baldrige Award and the Deming Prize for Quality. We have been utilizing the TQM methodologies for the past few years to turn our environmental focus from end-of-pipe waste management to proactive and preventive TQEM and have made significant progress in reducing our wastes, emissions, and impact on the environment. This article shows how TQEM is now driving Design For Environment (DFE) programs and procedures, recognizing that addressing environmental issues in the initial design process is the most cost-effective means for minimizing environmental impact.     

Waste management in a more unequal world: centring inequality in our waste and climate change discourse

ABSTRACT

Climate change is expected to contribute to global inequality, and exacerbate ecological risk for the world's poor. Despite recent trends within waste management academic discourse, which has begun to engage with inequality, and its underlying socio-economic and socio-political causes, discussions of inequality have so far remained absent from our investigations on climate change's impacts on waste management systems and practices. The purpose of the discussion is to call for a centring of inequality within our waste and climate discourse. I identify two main pathways for scholarly investigation, specifically, developing alternative waste management solutions for contexts in which waste management systems fail, which do not just perpetuate existing inequalities, and addressing the growing inequality in waste management technology and practice between the Global North and the Global South.     

Proactive Management of Air Quality

Traditional air resource management systems have difficulty in addressing global issues, sustainable development, direct citizen participation, and integration with broad economic interests. As reactive management systems, they tend to be compliance-driven, static, and rigid. In contrast, proactive management systems are principle-driven, innovative, and flexible. Bridge scientists play a key role in supporting the transformation of raw data into wise action. Decision-makers need to integrate social values with knowledge about emissions, atmospheric processes, and potential environmental effects using the primary tools of measurements, monitoring, and modeling. The Alberta Clean Air Strategic Alliance, a unique partnership of governments, industry, and public interest groups formed in 1994, operates a comprehensive air management system that is capable of addressing air issues of greater complexity and uncertainty. Its success is measured by the satisfaction of its diverse stakeholders and by the number and scope of its initiatives.     

Evaluating management systems as part of environmental audits

Evaluating management systems is a crucial component of any environmental audit. Evolving regulations and directives acknowledge this importance. Remedying management deficiencies can result in long-term, lasting improvements in environmental compliance with external requirements and internal policies. This article presents ideas and examples from leading companies on how environmental audits can be designed to enhance TQEM systems.     

A Framework to Evaluate Ecological and Social Outcomes of Collaborative Management: Lessons from Implementation with a Northern Arizona Collaborative Group

As collaborative groups gain popularity as an alternative means for addressing conflict over management of public lands, the need for methods to evaluate their effectiveness in achieving ecological and social goals increases. However, frameworks that examine both effectiveness of the collaborative process and its outcomes are poorly developed or altogether lacking. This paper presents and evaluates the utility of the holistic ecosystem health indicator (HEHI), a framework that integrates multiple ecological and socioeconomic criteria to evaluate management effectiveness of collaborative processes. Through the development and application of the HEHI to a collaborative in northern Arizona, the Diablo Trust, we present the opportunities and challenges in using this framework to evaluate the ecological and social outcomes of collaborative adaptive management. Baseline results from the first application of the HEHI are presented as an illustration of its potential as a co-adaptive management tool. We discuss lessons learned from the process of selecting indicators and potential issues to their long-term implementation. Finally, we provide recommendations for applying this framework to monitoring and adaptive management in the context of collaborative management.     

区域大气环境质量管理的合作机制与政策讨论

区域环境管理与合作有助于从区域的角度出发解决由于跨界污染引发的利益冲突和纠纷;同时由于有效的区域管理和合作有可能基于区域间污染治理成本的差异,制定最小成本的污染防治战略,可以因此推动整个区域的协调发展。2010年以来,中国大气污染防治已经开始向区域管理转化,并开始步入跨地区合作的新阶段。但这种转型,尚缺乏有效的制度安排和政策手段的支撑。已有的区域环境管理合作实践所存在的诸多不足和障碍主要源于缺乏不同主体进行有效合作的激励机制,一方面由于各地区所处的经济发展阶段、地方环境保护意识等方面存在差异,往往很难促成真正的整合管理与合作;另一方面体现在相应的责任-利益协调机制缺失,致使跨地区合作难以常规化和长效化。因此,构建合理的区域大气环境管理与合作机制至关重要。本文分析和讨论了区域环境管理与合作中的关键问题,并在此基础上提出构建区域环境管理与合作机制的几点思考。     

Mission assurance policy and risk management in cybersecurity

Mission assurance policy and risk management are essential in enabling decision makers to ensure successful completion of missions by addressing the security status of cyber assets. This paper presents a novel mission assurance policy that adapts to the dynamic security status of all mission assets to quickly and automatically determine mission assurance level and to decide what changes are needed accordingly. The novelty of this mission assurance policy stems from using a time Petri net model for determining the security status of cyber assets, and then employing binary or multi-valued logic decision diagrams to assess the mission assurance level. The ability of a mission assurance policy to successfully complete its objectives depends mainly on whether a risk management scheme is provided to reduce risk to an acceptable level. To that end, this paper also describes a risk management scheme to systematically deal with the main factors of risk management such as the temporal interdependencies of cyber assets, impact of attacks, and risk mitigation. Given that the status of cyber assets changes due to the dynamic cybersecurity environment of asset vulnerabilities, threats, and recovery, the proposed mission assurance policy and risk management scheme enable decision makers to cope with the real-time assessment of mission assurance level.     

Marine Protected Area Management in South Africa: New Policies,Old Paradigms

A historical perspective on MPA identification and governance in South Africa reflects the continued influence of a top-down and natural science-based paradigm, that has hardly changed over the past half century, despite the wealth of literature, and a growing consensus, that advocates the need to adopt a more integrated and human-centered approach. Based on extensive research in two coastal fishing communities, the paper highlights impacts and conflicts arising from this conventional approach to MPA identification, planning and management. It argues that failure to understand the particular fishery system in all its complexity, in particular the human dimensions, and involve resource users in planning and decision-making processes, undermines efforts to achieve conservation and fisheries management objectives. The customary rights of local resource users, and their food and livelihood needs in relation to marine resources, need to be acknowledged, prioritized and integrated into planning and decision-making processes. Convincing ecologists, fisheries scientists and managers, that MPA success depends on addressing the root causes of resource decline and incorporating social factors into MPA identification, planning and management, remains a huge challenge in South Africa.     

Environmental auditing roundtable establishes formal standards for environmental,health, and safety audits

The Environmental Auditing Roundtable recently promulgated the Standards for the Performance of Environmental, Health, and Safety Audits that are featured in this article. With many global initiatives converging in the development of environmental auditing and management standards, this document represents a vital building block, unique from many others in that it was built by a broad-based consensus effort of actual practitioners. Over 95 percent of the Roundtable members who voted on the standard endorsed it.     

The environmental audit. II. Application to stream network design

The planning and execution of water quality management programs requires careful collection and analysis of data coupled with a systematic review and analysis of programmatic success. The environmental audit is a tool which facilitates improved water quality planning and management. This article demonstrates the utility of the environmental audit by reviewing portions of a comprehensive review of the water quality management program for the state of Idaho. The audit is a tool which forces careful design of a sampling program before data are collected. In the audit approach, program objectives are clearly stated prior to initiation of sampling. Stated objectives are also evaluated regularly to identify tension points, that is, conflicts between expectations and reality. In the example taken from Idaho, a management review team followed a directive to redesign the water quality monitoring program. We present a summary of the redesign as proposed by that team, to illustrate the results of a typical review of monitoring programs. That summary is followed by an example of how the proposed program would differ if the audit approach had been used. The two approaches offered both coincident and conflicting recommendations. Management review team and audit recommendations for lake sampling programs were similar even though a different process was used to develop the recommendations. The most striking contrast between the two results lies in the review team's approach to the problem. The directives followed, and the team's responses, concentrate on tools, such as increasing biological monitoring or reliance on monthly BWMP stations. In contrast, the audit results stress addressing management questions for which clear objectives have been stated, depending on specific tools only as needed to meet stated objectives. Although the audit does integrate externalities in its structure, it is little affected by economic or political influences. A major strength of the audit approach is its ability to provide defensible data for management decision making.     

An introduction to reverse logistics for environmental management: A new system to support sustainability and profitability

The private-sector marketplace has identified the reengineering of the structure and management of the supply chain as a great untapped business opportunity. In traditional supply chains poorly structured operational and financial decision making institutionalized the poor management of material resources. This nonoptimized management process results in the generation of impaired material resources, which leads to solid and hazardous waste, as well as additional operating costs throughout the supply chain. The way in which the marketplace is addressing the issue of impaired material resources is by transferring the ownership and liability of impaired resources from the customer back to the supplier. The marketplace is also implicitly saying that the supplier must redesign its products to eliminate/minimize waste, or if the supplier fails to accomplish this goal, the supplier will be forced to absorb the costs associated with managing impaired material resources. The ramifications of this change are truly of historical proportions. The utility of a material resource to create wealth has throughout the centuries almost always required its ownership. Ownership has also denoted that the owner accept any liabilities created by the material resource. This is now all about to change. To support this change, a vastly expanded infrastructure and new management systems will have to be developed. This article shows how to manage the supply chain and impaired material resources. The new system that will operationally and financially manage these changes as well as create new organizational decision-making drivers is Reverse Logistics Management (RLM).     

Planning Models for Sustainable Water Resource Development

This paper intends to present a critical review of the planning models that can be used for sustainable water resource development. Three types of models are identified and assessed: (1) economic analysis models; (2) decision analysis models; and (3) systems analysis models. The methodology adopted in this paper is based on first describing the different types of models and then synthesizing and evaluating these models in terms of their theoretical underpinnings, applications, strengths and weaknesses. Each model is investigated with respect to its utility in addressing sustainability in water resource management. The study concludes that decision-based and system-based models may offer a wider spectrum of concepts than economic models in addressing multi-objective, multi-actor or 'wicked' problems in water management and resource sustainability.     

Adaptive Management: From More Talk to Real Action

The challenges currently facing resource managers are large-scale and complex, and demand new approaches to balance development and conservation goals. One approach that shows considerable promise for addressing these challenges is adaptive management, which by now is broadly seen as a natural, intuitive, and potentially effective way to address decision-making in the face of uncertainties. Yet the concept of adaptive management continues to evolve, and its record of success remains limited. In this article, we present an operational framework for adaptive decision-making, and describe the challenges and opportunities in applying it to real-world problems. We discuss the key elements required for adaptive decision-making, and their integration into an iterative process that highlights and distinguishes technical and social learning. We illustrate the elements and processes of the framework with some successful on-the-ground examples of natural resource management. Finally, we address some of the difficulties in applying learning-based management, and finish with a discussion of future directions and strategic challenges.     

Analysis of constraints and potentials for wastewater management in the coastal city of Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Manado is the largest and most densely populated coastal city in North Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The city is facing problems of wastewater discharged from various sources. These problems are driven by high population pressure, increasing economic activity, and low household income, in combination with inadequate organizational structure of government institutions for addressing the wastewater problems as well as for law enforcement. There have been no community initiatives to prevent or mitigate wastewater problems. Therefore, a wastewater management plan is urgently needed to prevent and mitigate pollution caused by discharged wastewater. In this paper we analyze the current situation with respect to environmental state, sources and treatment of wastewater, socio-economic and institutional capacities as well as community awareness. Constraints and potentials are discussed to give recommendations for an integrated wastewater management plan for the city of Manado.     

Examining Hazard Mitigation Within the Context of Public Goods

/ This paper presents a case study of an American barrier island devastated by a hurricane to show how it is addressing the free-riding problem and protecting its public goods, thereby contributing to hazard mitigation. It examines hazard mitigation and the free-riding problem within the public goods framework. Free-riding is a term used in the public choice theory and common pool resource literature. It is a term used for describing the actions of rational individuals who freely exploit a collective or public good at the expense of others. Free-riding is a major problem faced by public goods. The problem very frequently occurs in the context of hazard mitigation and coastal resource management. Very little is known about the factors that contribute to the promotion of hazard mitigation. This paper identifies some of the important factors that help local institutions provide and sustain hazard mitigation measures. Theoretical and practical implications for hazards research and disaster management policy are presented.     

Environmental site assessments and audits: Building inspection requirements

Environmental site assessment criteria were originally developed by organizations that focused, almost exclusively, on surface, subsurface, and pollution source contamination. Many of the hazards associated with indoor environments and building structures were traditionally not considered when evaluating sources and entities of environmental pollution. Since a large number of building materials are potentially hazardous, careful evaluation is necessary. Until recently, little information on building inspection requirements of environmental problems has been published. Traditionally, asbestos has been the main component of concern. The ever-changing environmental standards have dramatically expanded the scope of building surveys. Indoor environmental concerns, for example, currently include formaldehyde, lead-based paint, polychlorinated biphenyls, radon, and indoor air pollution. Environmental regulations are being expanded and developed that specifically include building structures. These regulatory standards are being triggered by an increased awareness of health effects from indoor exposure, fires, spills, and other accidents that have resulted in injury, death, and financial loss. This article discusses various aspects of assessments for building structures.     

Indigenous Waste Management Practices among the Ngwa of Southeastern Nigeria: Some Lessons and Policy Implications

Despite large investments that have gone into meeting the challenges of effective waste management in urban Nigeria, there is little evidence that such efforts are having their expected impacts. Consequently, much attention has been drawn to the need to evolve more sustainable waste management strategies. Drawing on data from in-depth interviews among the Ngwa of southeastern Nigeria, some useful indigenous solid and liquid waste management techniques, in the search for solutions to the current waste management crisis in urban Nigeria, have become evident. These indigenous techniques and practices, which include ingenious and careful waste segregation and sorting, selective burning and burying, composting and conversion, etc., offer scope for meeting the challenges and addressing the limitations of current waste management in urban areas, especially if they are supported by appropriate inputs from modern technology.     

PERSISTENT CONFLICTS OVER TIMBER PRODUCTION AND WATERSHED MANAGEMENP: A PROBLEM ANALYSIS1

ABSTRACT: Most forest lands are managed for multiple purposes, among them timber production and water supply. Conflicts often arise in such cases because logging is perceived as a threat to water quality. These conflicts can result from uncertain factual information, from differences in underlying social values, or from imbalances in the incidence of costs and benefits. Resulting conificts may go unresolved because existing institutional structures fail to address the real roots of the dispute. When such conificts go unresolved, benefits are often lost, and social, political, and managerial costs are high. This study found that the roots of conifict may lie in value differences or in interest impacts, but attention may be focused inappropriately and unproductively on factual issues. It suggests that at least some long-standing disputes in the management of forested watersheds may be resolved by identifying the root causes of these disputes and choosing those actions, whether they be changes in management guidelines or altered institutional structures, which are appropriate to those causes.     

INTEGRATING SOCIAL BENEFIT COST ACCOUNTING INTO WATERSHED RESTORATION AND PROTECTION PROGRAMS1

ABSTRACT: Successful watershed management requires consideration of multiple objectives and the efficient use of scarce public and private resources. One way to address these multi-faceted issues is through Social Benefit-Cost Accounting (SBCA). SBCA is a systematic method of addressing complex social and economic issues relevant to proposed watershed management projects. Benefits of using this technique include: benefits and costs of watershed projects are better understood; politically sensitive issues tend to be put into perspective; and stakeholders' interests are placed on a level playing field. An example from Bogota, Colombia demonstrates how SBCA can be used to value the benefits and costs of a proposed project. By addressing the benefits and costs to all stakeholders, the design of watershed management programs can be improved to achieve goals in a cost-effective manner.     

Building audits into tqem measurement systems at P&G

This article discusses an approach to building environmental compliance audits into an effective TQEM measurement system. With this approach, companies can move their existing programs from just “meeting the law” to being viewed as “leaders in environmental excellence.” The benefit of this change is that local communities are more likely to allow their environmental leaders the operating flexibility that minimizes cost and the necessary permits for expansion.