Results of a questionnaire investigation on the management of environmental issues during conceptual design. A case study of two large made-to-order companies

This paper investigates the current treatment of environmental issues by two companies within the large made-to-order sector. Fifty questionnaires were issued to the design team of each company to assess current practice in the integration of environmental issues with design activities, awareness of environmental issues, awareness of existing environmental design tools and the preferred format for a potential clean design tool.     

Barriers to the adoption of proactive environmental strategies

This study contributes to the knowledge of the difficulties or barriers found by firms when adopting proactive environmental strategies, providing empirical evidence from 240 Spanish industrial firms. A set of 25 barriers are initially evaluated by the managers of the sample firms and are grouped into four types of difficulties facing firms: external barriers, endemic limitations of the firm, limited environmental motivation and limited preparation of employees and operational inertia. The estimation of a structural equation model leads us to conclude that only the barriers identified as endemic limitations of the firm can be characterized as “effective barriers”, defined as problems preventing firms from progressing toward proactive environmental behavior.     

The determinants of citizen complaints on environmental pollution: an empirical study from China

Using China’s environmental statistical data set for the period 2001-2006, this paper presents an extensive empirical analysis of the relationships among citizens’ environmental complaints, pollution intensities, and socio-economic characteristics. We found that exposure to harmful pollutants significantly influence people’s complaint behaviors because higher densities of chemical oxygen demand and SO₂ emissions are correlated with a higher incidence of citizen’s complaints of water pollution and air pollution, respectively. In terms of demographical variables, household income has significantly positive impacts on the likelihood of citizens lodging environmental complaints regarding air, water, and solid waste pollution. Citizens in municipality and coastal regions tend to complain more than those in interior regions. Our results support the view that environmental complaints can provide valuable information for regulators to efficiently allocate inspection resources; however, the information may be noisy since complaints are more likely to arise from wealthier and more-educated regions. In order to mitigate this problem, we argue that it may be helpful to strengthen basic education in poorer regions and to encourage environmental information disclosure for attracting more people’s attention to pollution problems. In addition, regular inspection capabilities in poor and seriously polluted regions must be enhanced for investigating regulatory violation.     

环境监测与环境监测技术的发展

环境监测是环境保护的基础,环境监测为环保工作提供了科学依据和技术支持,环境监测技术使人们能够更为及时、有效地监测、判断环境状况,进而探究环境保护的方法和途径,明确环保工作的方向和目标,制定科学、正确的环保制度和政策。在环境问题日益严重的现代社会,环境监测技术已经成为一项不可或缺的现代科学技术。本文首先分析了环境监测的涵义和发展过程,然后分析了环境监测技术的发展概况以及未来发展趋势。     

Case study evidence that direct regulation remains the main driver of industrial pollution avoidance and may benefit operational efficiency

Environmental regulation is required to reduce industrial pollution to levels that are socially acceptable and economically efficient, but there is debate over the most efficient form of such regulation. Typically, a limited range of environmental and economic parameters are accounted for in the econometric studies that inform that debate. This paper integrates evidence from two separate studies to assess a broad range of parameters related to the efficiency of industrial environmental regulation. Questionnaire responses from 25 Italian manufacturers of building-chemicals and 28 Irish pharmaceutical manufacturers provided evidence on the environmental effectiveness and operational impacts of different regulatory instruments. Combined with extensive emissions data from Irish pharmaceutical manufacturers, survey results enabled a quantitative estimation of pollution avoidance specifically attributable to direct regulation. The monetised social benefit of avoided pollution was found to be equal to direct compliance costs. Chemical manufacturers in Italy and Ireland stated that direct regulation is a more important driver of industrial environmental performance than economic or voluntary regulation, and their responses indicated that direct compliance costs may be countered somewhat by stimulated operational improvements. It was concluded that direct regulation is an effective approach for multi-pollutant control in an industrial context, and that the efficiency of such regulation may be underestimated in studies that do not consider the full range of pollutants and operational effects.     

Experiences from early stages of a national industrial symbiosis programme in the UK: determinants and coordination challenges

This paper reviews the factors influencing the development and sustained operation of regional industrial symbiosis (IS) networks and discusses the roles a coordination body can play to alter these factors so as to catalyse the development and functioning of such networks. These are analysed within the context of experiences gained in the early stages of three regional IS programmes under development in the UK, and of the recently launched national IS programme (NISP) that they are part of. It is stated that the policy framework in the UK has elements supportive of such networks to evolve, and the regional public bodies are favouring their development. Based on differences among studied cases, it is argued that the nature of companies’ operations and industrial history in the regions, the extent of peer pressure, the positioning of the coordinating body in the region, and its approach to awareness raising and recruitment have major influence on the progress of the programmes. Finally, the paper emphasises the importance of aligning the characteristics of emerging operations with the longer-term sustainability requirements. If accepted, this challenge assigns additional responsibilities to the coordinating parties.     

Implementing stricter environmental regulation to enhance eco-efficiency and sustainability: a case study of Shandong Province’s pulp and paper industry, China

There has been much debate on the topic of whether stricter environmental regulations can promote environmental performance and economic performance at the same time. Different researchers have used different indicators to measure environmental performance and economic performance in their empirical studies. However, it is a surprise that few studies have checked the relationship between environmental regulation and eco-efficiency, as the latter is widely regarded as a quite powerful tool of considering ecology and economy together.In this study the background is the implementation in 2003 of the Stricter Discharge Standard (SDS) in Shandong Province’s Pulp and Paper Industry (SPPI), compared to the national standards of China. The stricter regulations were intended to promote corporate change from passive management to active control and from end-of-pipe treatment to cleaner production. This study investigated the eco-efficiency trends of SPPI from 2001 to 2008 in three fields: water efficiency, energy efficiency and environment efficiency. A “de-linking” and “re-linking” tool was used to attain a further evaluation. The study showed that with the implementation of stricter regulation most of the efficiency indicators (except CO₂ emission and energy consumption) had achieved significant improvements, and the overall environmental performance trends of SPPI showed it to be more sustainable. However, the study also found that it was not enough to address a single indicator in the environmental regulation of the pulp and paper industry. More holistic eco-efficiency indicators need to be further considered and introduced to the industry as the next step to create true sustainable development.     

How environmental management driving forces affect environmental and economic performance of SMEs: a study in the Northern China district

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form the core of societal and economic development. However, most people query on the implementation and performance of environmental management. In this paper, the manufacturing SMEs in Northern China with different pollution levels are studied to explore the main forces (e.g., government, society, market, and enterprise itself) driving SMEs for promoting environmental management. It focuses on the correlation between environmental management and economic performance for SMEs at different pollution levels. The results show that SMEs of different pollution levels have significant differences in the relationship of driving forces and performance. First, for SMEs with high-pollution levels, social and market driving forces and government incentives are revealed having a significant effect on their environmental performance. Driving forces from within the enterprise itself and the market provide a positive effect on the economic performance, while social forces have a negative effect. Second, for SMEs with light pollution, social and market driving forces, and government assistance play a supporting role on corporate environmental performance improvement. It is also found that the driving force of the enterprise itself does not have a significant effect on the environmental performance for SMEs with different pollution levels. In addition, the environmental performance and economic performance for SMEs with high or light-pollution levels are positively correlated. Further, it shows that the environmental performance is moderately correlated with financial indices, but not significantly with the non-financial indices.     

工业锅炉低 NOx 燃烧技术简介

本文介绍了NOx的产生类型,以及低NOx 燃烧技术的研究和应用现状,并对不同类型工业锅炉的NOx防治措施进行了分析。     

从雾霾防治的环境保护执法问题看行政能力建设

雾霾是近年出现的因空气质量恶化引起的气象灾害,我国多地区均出现过不同程度的雾霾天气。雾霾天气使社会各界对环境的忧虑提升到了空前的高度。本文拟从环境保护行政执法的角度浅谈雾霾防治,阐述了当前雾霾防治的环保执法问题和相关建议。     

A basic study with feasibility of applying clean development mechanism to the transport projects

In the transport sector, few projects applied Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) or Joint Implementation (JI) projects. This study will examine the feasibility of applying CDM to the transport sector from viewpoints of validation of processes and funding. A number of greenhouse gas emission reduction projects, as well as traffic management project within existing transport infrastructures, can be implemented as CDM projects. New transport infrastructure projects can be validated by transportdemand forecasting and traffic simulation methods, though application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) technologies. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

大学生旅游者环境素养调查及环境教育研究

环境素养是关于环境知识和技能、情感和价值观以及行为的综合,对大学生旅游者环境素养的调查是实施环境教育的重要基础。以南京林业大学为研究对象,以配额抽样法探讨大学生旅游者学科专业、性别因素对环境素养水平的影响,研究发现当代大学生旅游者具有较好的环境意识和态度,具备锻炼成长为严格的生态旅游者的潜质,对旅游环境和生态知识的渴求和认知程度对整体环境素养水平有较大影响,然而也存在着知行脱节、环境行为滞后于环境意识的现象。应结合高校各学科教学与环境道德教育工作,合理设置相关课程,开展旅游环保实践活动,创建绿色校园,营造提升大学生旅游者环境素养的整体氛围。     

Eco-design in innovation driven companies: perception, predictions and the main drivers of integration. The Spanish example

This study attempts to contribute to the scarce knowledge on how eco-design, and to broad extent sustainability, is connected to innovation driven companies. In particular, this cross sectional research verifies i) perception and knowledge of eco-design of the professionals from innovation driven companies in Spain, ii) specific eco-design strategies towards sustainability that innovation driven companies are integrating in their strategic plans and their application in the supply chain and iii) the companies’ future predictions on innovation and eco-design linkage. The methodology of this paper is based on a survey, developed defining measurable proxies for both eco-design and innovation approaches and conducted on 10,000 multidisciplinary professionals from Spanish innovation driven companies. The study shows that sustainability is a cardinal driver for innovation and that responses have specificities regarding company size, activity or respondent position. Innovation and eco-design strategies for the future aim to use materials with a lower environmental impact and to develop new concepts.     

A rough set-based quality function deployment (QFD) approach for environmental performance evaluation: a case of offshore oil and gas operations

Activities in offshore oil and gas (OOG) that cause environmental impacts can be systematically managed through an environmental management system (EMS). Environmental performance evaluation (EPE) is an essential part of an EMS. However, previous studies on EPE indicate that existing lists of indicators little insight into how indicators are modified to more accurately assess environmental performance.In this paper, a way is proposed to identify and define specific environmental performance indicators on a case-by-case basis, which consists of five steps: (1) describing environmental requirements; (2) determining favourable outcomes corresponding to the requirements; (3) identifying required activities or issues to achieve the outcomes; (4) searching for proper measures of the activities or issues; and (5) generating a list of key indicators. Based on these steps, a quality function deployment (QFD) approach is developed to determine key indicators and evaluate environmental performance. To handle uncertainties in QFD, the decision makers’ evaluations are quantified through rough numbers using the concept of rough sets. The outputs of the proposed approach are different environmental performance indices. Using these indices, decision makers can easily determine whether an improved performance has been achieved through an EMS. The proposed approach is transparent and promising for use as a unified tool for EPE. An application of the proposed approach is demonstrated through a numerical example.     

影响中小企业实施积极主动型环境策略的管理因素分析

通过对以往实证性研究文献的回溯,分析了影响中小企业作出积极主动型环境策略选择的某些管理层面的因素及其变化,并提出了今后我国在该领域的研究方向和建议。     

化学危险品储运项目环境风险评价实例

以某工厂的危险货物铁路专用线项目为例，对化学危险品储运项目环境风险评价的特点、内容、方法等进行探讨。     

Constructing collaborative communities of researchers in the environmental domain. A case study of interdisciplinary research between legal scholars and policy analysts

The article offers an analysis of the interactions between legal and policy science researchers within a European project on flood risk management using a “Policy Arrangement Approach” (PAA). While interdisciplinary research is increasingly becoming a ‘must’ in environmental governance, under what conditions is cooperation possible and desirable? Our analysis shows that the PAA is not mobilized as an interdisciplinary method, but offers a framework for researchers from different disciplines to learn to work together on a subject such as flooding, requiring interdisciplinary insights. The paper shows the steps that are progressively put in place to reach a common language and reformulate issues by benefitting from each other’s view and approaches. The article concludes by drawing attention to new means of knowledge production relating to so-called “messy” or “wicked” problems, such as environmental issues. Within this framework, interdisciplinary work is not considered to be a pre-condition for the study, but rather the result of the research process itself. The analysis draws attention to the actual (working) conditions established to create an interdisciplinary community of flooding practices by challenging disciplinary borders.     

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.     

黄河下游“二级悬河”典型河段近期治理工程环境影响研究

根据黄河下游“二级悬河”“槽高、滩低、堤根洼”的特点,结合国务院发布的《黄河流域防洪规划》,分析工程建设的必要性以及对黄河下游河道进行改造的重大意义,进行了工程实施对黄河下游河道水文情势、水生生态、淤填区陆生生态、土地利用方式、水土流失、退水等环境影响研究。针对工程实施所带来的环境影响提出相应的水环境、生态修复、防护和保护等措施。     

不同有机碳源对滇池沿湖大棚土壤水溶性氮、磷调控的研究

采用大田试验方法,研究了5龄大棚土壤在不施肥（CK）、常规施肥（C14）、混合秸秆粉（CF）和褐煤粉（MF）4种处理下对土壤水溶性氮、磷调控的影响。结果表明,在不影响作物产量的前提下,CF、MF和CK与CH相比均能降低土壤水溶性氮含量水平,而CF、MF可促进土壤水溶性磷解吸;CF、MF与CK相比,CF促进土壤水溶性磷的释出,MF抑制了土壤水溶性磷的释出。