A methodology for evaluating environmental planning systems: A case study of Canada

Sustainable environmental management is contingent on having an effective environmental planning system. A new methodology for designing and evaluating environmental planning systems is described and applied to a case study evaluation of the Canadian environmental planning process. The methodology is based on eight international best practice principles for environmental planning and 45 indicators. The research illustrates the benefits of the evaluation methodology in identifying how to improve environmental planning systems to achieve desired results. The methodology is applicable to a wide variety of jurisdictions.     

The connecticut indirect source review: A methodology and model for evaluating CO concentrations

The body of information presented in this paper is directed to air pollution engineers who are concerned with the effect of indirect sources on ambient concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO). Data taken under controlled conditions are used to empirically derive and calibrate a model for predicting CO concentrations in the vicinity of roadway intersections and other points of possible vehicular congestion. Since the predicted free flow CO contribution of vehicles traveling at normal road speeds is relatively low, it is concluded that idling vehicles at points of congestion are the major cause of CO violations, and that state and federal programs should place more emphasis on relieving congestion and reducing idling emission rates in new vehicles.     

Quality metrics in design for environment

There is a growing commitment by manufacturers, both in the United States and abroad, to assure environmental responsibility for all of their operations. This trend is driven partly by market demands for “green” products and partly by changes in international standards and regulations. In response, leading companies are demonstrating that environmental improvement can actually increase profitability, and design for environment (DFE) is emerging as an important business practice. The ability to evaluate environmental quality in objective, measurable terms is a key component of an effective DFE capability. In particular, environmental quality metrics are essential to support goal setting, monitoring, and continuous improvement in the design of products and processes. This article describes environmental quality measurement tools and procedures, particularly as they relate to DFE. One of the challenges of performance measurement is to incorporate a life-cycle view of environmental performance into measurement tools that can be easily computed and tracked.     

Achieving eco-efficiency through design for environment

“Eco-efficiency” is a term that does not yet appear in dictionaries but has already gained considerable force in shaping the environmental policies and practices of leading corporations. The Business Council on Sustainable Development (BCSD) sounded a trumpet call with their 1992 manifesto, “Changing Course.” Due to the credibility of the companies that constitute BCSD's membership—including Dow Chemical, 3M, Northern Telecom, Ciba-Geigy, Volkswagen, Nissan, Mitsubishi, and many others—their message has had a substantial influence on the strategic thinking of company executives around the world, BCSD's concept of eco-efficiency suggests an important link between resource efficiency (which leads to productivity and profitability) and environmental responsibility. Eco-efficiency makes business sense. By eliminating waste and using resources wisely, eco-efficient companies reduce costs and become more competitive. As environmental performance standards become commonplace, eco-efficient companies will be at an advantage for penetrating new markets and increasing their share of existing markets. This article describes the business practices companies are adopting to increase their eco-efficiency and improve their competitive advantage. “Corporations that achieve ever more efficiency while preventing pollution through good housekeeping, materials substitution, cleaner technologies, and cleaner products and that strive for more efficient use and recovery of resources can be called eco-efficient.” Declaration of the Business Council on Sustainable Development, 1992.     

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.     

Process design for the environment: A multi-objective framework under uncertainty

Designing chemical processes for the environment requires consideration of several indexes of environmental impact including ozone depletion, global warming potentials, human and aquatic toxicity, photochemical oxidation, and acid rain potentials. Current methodologies, such as the generalized waste reduction algorithm (WAR), provide a first step towards evaluating these impacts. However, to address the issues of accuracy and the relative weights of these impact indexes, one must consider the problem of uncertainties. Environmental impacts must also be weighted and balanced against other concerns, such as their cost and long-term sustainability. These multiple, often conflicting, goals pose a challenging and complex optimization problem, requiring multi-objective optimization under uncertainty. This paper will address the problem of quantifying and analyzing the various objectives involved in process design for the environment. Towards this goal, we proposed a novel multi-objective optimization framework under uncertainty. This framework is based on new and efficient algorithms for multi-objective optimization and for uncertainty analysis. This approach finds a set of potentially optimal designs where trade-offs can be explicitly identified, unlike cost-benefit analysis, which deals with multiple objectives by identifying a single fundamental objective and then converting all the other objectives into this single currency. A benchmark process for hydrodealkylation (HDA) of toluene to produce benzene modeled in the ASPEN simulator is used to illustrate the usefulness of the approach in finding environmentally friendly and cost-effective designs under uncertainty.     

A hybrid design methodology for structuring an Integrated Environmental Management System (IEMS) for shipping business

The International Safety Management (ISM) Code defines a broad framework for the safe management and operation of merchant ships, maintaining high standards of safety and environmental protection. On the other hand, ISO 14001:2004 provides a generic, worldwide environmental management standard that has been utilized by several industries. Both the ISM Code and ISO 14001:2004 have the practical goal of establishing a sustainable Integrated Environmental Management System (IEMS) for shipping businesses. This paper presents a hybrid design methodology that shows how requirements from both standards can be combined into a single execution scheme. Specifically, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Axiomatic Design (FAD) are used to structure an IEMS for ship management companies. This research provides decision aid to maritime executives in order to enhance the environmental performance in the shipping industry.     

A methodology for estimation of vehicle emissions in an urban environment: an example from Greater Manchester

Road transport is a major contributor to urban air pollution. The introduction of local air qua lity management in the UK will require objective test procedures to evaluate and prioritise the air pollution benefits of existing transport systems and proposed developments. This methodology has been developed to assist the land use and transport planning professionals in evaluating current and potential future impacts on air quality. The method couples an emissions estimation procedure to a traffic flow database. It requires data on emission factors, the composition of the vehicle fleet, vehicle control technologies and the daily traffic flow profile. With these data, it is possible to generate emission estimates per kilometre, link or road as selected by the user. Forecasts can be made by varying input variables. The current methodology allows prediction of five or more pollutant species/classes, limited only by availability of emission factors. The method utilises a commercially available personal computer based spreadsheet. Further coupling of the method to a geographical information system will improve the decision support capability of the method.     

A review of criteria for evaluating natural areas

Environmental Management - Methods for evaluating natural areas have evolved in the last couple of decades to assess the importance of natural areas for the purposes of land-use planning,...     

A risk index methodology for potentially polluting marine sites

Attempting to assess the risk of a release from a potentially polluting marine site (PPMS) can be a very subjective process. The Marine Site Risk Index (MaSiRI) is designed to provide a more objective approach to this process by adopting a table-based evaluation scheme, while still allowing for the inevitable unknown conditions by including a subjective ‘expert correction’ in a suitably controlled manner. Building on a geographic database of PPMS records, the MaSiRI algorithm applies data filters to remove PPMS records for which it is not applicable and then estimates a basic risk index based on core data that almost all sites would contain. It can then refine the results for those sites that have auxiliary data, varying the assessed risk as appropriate, according to standard rule-sets. A risk level of confidence is computed and adjusted to express dynamic confidence in the risk value (e.g., due to reliance on estimates rather than measured values), and where appropriate an upper and lower bound of risk can be used to assess the range of values associated with an estimated parameter. This information can be visualized by a composite quality symbol proposed here. MaSiRI is demonstrated on three illustrative shipwrecks and then compared against the DEvelopment of European guidelines for Potentially Polluting (DEEPP) project database from the Pelagos Sanctuary in the western Mediterranean. The aggregate results of the comparison are broadly similar to DEEPP, within the limits of the comparison, but provide a more detailed analysis in the case of estimated pollutant volume and ubiquitous assessment of levels of confidence.     

A methodology for creating greenways through multidisciplinary sustainable landscape planning

This research proposes a methodology for defining greenways via sustainable planning. This approach includes the analysis and discussion of culture and natural processes that occur in the landscape. The proposed methodology is structured in three phases: eco-cultural analysis; synthesis and diagnosis; and proposal.An interdisciplinary approach provides an assessment of the relationships between landscape structure and landscape dynamics, which are essential to any landscape management or land use. The landscape eco-cultural analysis provides a biophysical, dynamic (geomorphologic rate), vegetation (habitats from directive 92/43/EEC) and cultural characterisation. The knowledge obtained by this analysis then supports the definition of priority actions to stabilise the landscape and the management measures for the habitats. After the analysis and diagnosis phases, a proposal for the development of sustainable greenways can be achieved.This methodology was applied to a study area of the Azambuja Municipality in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (Portugal). The application of the proposed methodology to the study area shows that landscape stability is crucial for greenway users in order to appreciate the landscape and its natural and cultural elements in a sustainable and healthy way, both by cycling or by foot. A balanced landscape will increase the value of greenways and in return, they can develop socio-economic activities with benefits for rural communities.     

A new methodology to calculate the environmental protection index (Ep). A case study applied to a company producing composite materials

Environmental indicators can be used as a first stage in progress towards comprehensive environmental impact measures [J. Environ. Manage 65/3 (2002) 285]. In this article, we develop a 'pollutant interaction matrix method' that allows calculation of a global environmental protection index (Ep) in order to verify the eco-compatibility of an industrial activity. Two methods are proposed for the Ep index evaluation (which represents the numerical measure of the environmental sustainability): the Direct Method (Epd) and the Weighted Method (Epw). Both methods need to define, in the whole industrial process, homogeneous sectors (defined as construction sites where activities of the same type are carried out). Furthermore, for each activity a set of parameters (t, duration of pollution effect, P, quantity of pollutant produced,G, hazard of the pollutant) are required to evaluate the relative pollution index Y. All indices calculations were carried out using a set of matrices. The correct use of Ep evaluation provides an improvement in the total environmental performance of companies because it points out possible critical operations in each homogeneous sector which require solutions. The methodology is applied to evaluate the environmental pollution risk of a company that produces polymer materials and to improve their environmental performance. The results obtained show that the whole productive process has a low environmental impact factor. Nevertheless the applied methodology puts in evidence some processes that generate local pollution in specific areas of the factory and which could be dangerous for the workers' health.     

Conservation of building materials and the future of the built environment

Building uses a combination of materials resources ranging from clay to bronze. Some of these resources are widely available, but require substantial energy resources to process and distribute them as the volumes used are so great. Other resources, like copper, are in much smaller supply. The resources used in building need to be examined against the future resource limitations in their supply and the possibilities of recycling. The links between building and waste cycles will also be critical, as wastes from other processes can often be incorporated into the building process. Design for recycling has to be balanced against the advantages of design for longer life. Reversible cementitious processes could confer enormous advantages if the reversibility was safely controllable, but this represents a very formidable scientific problem. The advantages of composite materials need to be balanced against the difficulties of effective recycling, for example reinforced concrete. The building as an energy conservation device also needs more emphasis. The final section deals with the concept of the materials conservation city in a Utopian way. It is designed to stimulate constructive thinking about resource conservation and materials recycling.     

A process for quantifiable evaluation of environment improvement

Summary The assessment of adverse effects of development projects is well established, as, for example, in the case of quarrying or a new urban road scheme. Environmental Improvement, on the other hand, is generally seen as a by-product of economic or development schemes. In the UK it is recognised as an important factor in attracting private sector investment, yet in project evaluation environmental improvements are often described in general terms but not quantified.Survey methods for establishing people's preferences are well established. Enhancement of the environment can be measured as a ratio by assessing the environment before and after improvement. This method has been applied in an evaluation of four case studies assessing the impact of Urban Development Grants in South Wales (Alden et al., 1987).Dr S M Romaya is an architect who possesses a planning qualification. His environmental interests relate particularly to urban centres and these form the focus of his research and many publications. In addition to conducting an architectural practice and being involved in consultancy, much of his working life has been spent in academic institutions; as an Associate Professor at the College of Engineering Technology, Baghdad; at Nottingham University; and now as a lecturer in Urban Design in the Department of Town Planning, UWIST, Cardiff. This paper was initially delivered at an Environmental Impact Assessment Conference conducted by the Institution of Environmental Sciences during October 1986.     

Design for environment: A new framework for strategic decisions

For most of its history of environmental protection, U.S. policy has concentrated on a pollution control strategy based on single medium emissions: air, water, or land. Efforts to mitigate environmental impacts to one medium often resulted in greater impacts to others. While much environmental improvement has occurred via this system over the last quarter-century, it is generally recognized that alternative strategies which address environmental impacts across all media in an integrated manner will be necessary for continued improvement. Increasingly, regulatory strategies that result in only passive compliance will be insufficient to meet these demands. This article demonstrates why new strategies which encourage proactive behavior are necessary. A new framework for making strategic decisions—design for environment—concerning the relation between our actions and environment is necessary to ensure a sustainable future.     

A review of approaches for classifying benthic habitats and evaluating habitat quality

We have assessed the current state of knowledge relative to methods used in assessing sub-tidal benthic habitat quality and the classification of benthic habitats. While our main focus is on marine habitat, we extensively draw on knowledge gained in freshwater systems where benthic assessment procedures are at an advanced stage of maturity. We found a broad range of sophistication/complication in terms of the methods applied in assessing and mapping benthic habitats. The simplest index or metric involved some assessment of species richness, while the most complicated required utilizing multi-variate analysis. The simplest mapping attempts equated physical substrate with benthic habitat while the most sophisticated relied on extensive environmental preference and groundtruth data for species of concern. The leading edge of methods for benthic habitat mapping involves combining the advances in optical and acoustic methods that allow for routine classifying and mapping of the seafloor with biological and habitat data for species of concern. The objective of this melding of dispirit methods is to produce benthic habitat maps with broad system wide coverage and sound biological underpinning. It is clear that the disparity in information density between the physical and biological sides of the equation currently hinder applicability and acceptability of benthic habitat mapping efforts. In addition to the lack of basic information on the biological and environmental tolerances of targeted species, the proliferation of metrics for characterizing and assessing biological conditions further clouds the usefulness of any broad scale mapping attempt. The problem of data density mismatch between physical and biological methods will likely not be solved until acoustic methods can routinely resolve the elusive biological components that make a physical substrate a habitat.     

A biotest for evaluating copper bioavailability to plants in a contaminated soil

This work aimed at defining the optimal conditions for a novel ecotoxicological test designed for evaluating the bioavailability and phytotoxicity of metals to plants. This biotest, which provided easy access to roots, shoots, and rhizosphere soil, was applied to a vineyard calcareous soil that had been contaminated by the application of Cu fungicides. A preliminary hydroponic experiment comparing various levels of solution Cu concentration enabled us to determine the no observable adverse effects concentration (NOAEC), which was in the range 5 to 20 microM total Cu (0.01-0.06 microM free Cu ion) for rape (Brassica napus L. cv. Goeland). For the biotest, rape was grown in hydroponic conditions for 21 d in pots designed so that plants developed a planar mat of roots at the surface of a polyamide mesh. By then, the plants were transferred for 4 or 8 d onto a 1- or 3-mm-thick soil layer that was separated from the root mat by the mesh and connected to a reservoir of nutrient solution or deionized water via a filter paper wick. An 8-d period was the best option as it enabled plant growth to be significant. The use of 1-mm soil thickness was recommended if the biotest aimed at investigating root-induced changes in the rhizosphere. Although it may cause some artifacts, compared with deionized water, nutrient solution provided better standardized conditions for comparing widely differing soil samples. The studied soil did not induce any Cu phytotoxicity in spite of its fairly large total Cu content.     

湿热、亚湿热地区气候环境条件对高分子材料的影响

通过高分子材料在广州、海南地区三年大气自然环境曝露试验与人工加速试验对比,探索该类地区气候环境条件对高分子材料老化的规律性的影响。     

Experimental thermal storage research of organic binary phase change materials in building environment

This paper aims to reveal the heat transfer mechanism of low-temperature phase change material (PCM) and design PCM heat storage device in building heating environment. Firstly, low-temperature binary PCMs of lauric acid and stearic acid are prepared, and their thermal properties are investigated by DSC. Then, shell and tube latent heat thermal energy storage units are conducted, and heat transfer experiments are carried out to analyze the heat transfer mechanism of PCM. The results demonstrate that natural convection plays an important role in heat transfer process, and the heat storage efficiency of PCMs can be significantly enhanced by increasing the fin width and improving the inlet heat transfer fluid (HTF) temperature. Furthermore, some proposals are put forward to guide the design of PCM storage device in building heating environment.     

A framework for assessing discretionary corporate performance towards the environment

This article reviews the existing models of corporate social responsiveness and develops a theoretical framework with which to examine corporations' discretionary performance with respect to one social issue, that of the environment. Discretionary indicators of corporate response to environmental issues are developed and tested within this framework. Twelve companies from five different sectors were selected for the survey, based on prior knowledge of their commitment to environmental concerns. Primary data was collected from personal interviews, and secondary data was obtained from company documents, annual reports, and other forms of publically disclosed information. Empirical results varied, but certain voluntary indicators, such as composition of the board of directors, the environmental affairs function, community support, and the annual report are considered to provide strong indications of discretionary corporate performance. Philanthropy and company products proved to be less satisfactory indicators of corporate commitment to the environment. The aggregated results revealed a correlation between the final rankings of firms' discretionary environmental performance and whether those companies are process or product oriented. Linkages between discretionary elements and those of economic and legal requirements were not explored.