Changing corporate environmental philosophy: Project renewal gets companies started

Project RENEWAL is an innovative new environmental business project taking place in New Jersey. Project RENEWAL stands for Resource Efficiency Network to Eliminate Waste and Liability. The purpose of this project is to investigate and promote the linkages between ecology, technology, and business economics for the benefit of the economy and the environment. This is a collaborative effort, initially focused on equipment and inventory assets, between the business and environmental communities in order to explore new ways to increase business efficiency and profitability and also benefit the environment. Participants in the project include representatives from industry, consulting, local and state government, environmental agencies, trade groups and academia. This article will outline the background and initial framework of Project RENEWAL's initiatives. (The authors are open to comments, suggestions, criticism, and most importantly input from others who share their vision and are willing to cooperatively accelerate the change process).     

Economic sustainability and the preservation of environmental assets

The core requirement of sustainability is that current economic activities should not result in an excessive burden on future generations. This criterion is general enough to imply different decision rules for the preservation of environmental assets. Neoclassical economics does not have a sustainability criterion for environmental assets independent of the intertemporal efficiency criterion, which allocates environmental and man-made capital based on projected monetary benefits and costs. This criterion is examined in terms of the feasibility of valuing the benefits of environmental assets, the substitution possibilities between natural and man-made capital, and the ethical grounds for using efficiency as the sole determinant of the allocation of environmental assets. An alternative ecological sustainability criterion is the preservation of safe minimum levels of environmental assets in physical terms rather than the dollar value of a composite of natural and man-made capital. Safe minimum standards for environmental assets constrain the efficiency criterion in order to ensure the sustainability of economic systems. It is argued that the ecological approach to sustainability should limit the economic approach for decisions involving the allocation of environmental assets.     

Strategic evaluation of environmental projects in SMEs

This article examines how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can improve their capital investment decisionmaking process for both environmental and general capital projects. It proposes a framework that helps integrate environmental impacts into capital investment decisions, while recognizing SMEs' specific management practices, unique culture, and constraints. The framework presented here is also applicable to independent strategic business units of larger organizations where the capital investment decision process is decentralized. ©2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

瀑布沟水电站的主要环境问题

本文简要介绍了瀑布沟水电站的工程情况，工程地区的环境特点，以及兴建该工程带来的主要环境影响，包括自然环境，生物环境和社会环境的影响及其评价结论。     

ASSETS TO MOVE WATERSHED COUNCILS FROM ASSESSMENT TO ACTION1

ABSTRACT: Oregon watershed council leaders, members, and government supporters are working to improve watershed health. To identify the institutional assets that are most helpful in taking action, we assemble the lessons learned from several synthesis studies. The institutional assets fall into seven categories — leadership, vision, trust, social networks, capital, power, and local and technical knowledge. Scientific knowledge, leadership, vision, and social networks are the assets most widely recognized and available. Power, trust, and capital are challenges that must be met for actions to be successful. Most people affected by watershed council actions can appeal to more powerful interests to get these actions changed. Trust, particularly of scientific recommendations and government, is lacking. This distrust limits opportunities for watershed council actions.     

山东省自然保护区管理状况调查与分析

基于自然保护区管理机构、人员配置、固定资产、事业经费、基建与生态工程投入、旅游收入等17项调查指标,系统调查了山东省自然保护区管理机构、人员配置和资金投入状况,定量分析了山东省自然保护区管理状况,论述了自然保护区管理存在的主要问题与对策。结果表明:山东省56%的自然保护区建立了专门的管理机构,63%的自然保护区现有人员数量低于25人,33%的自然保护区事业经费低于45万元。自然保护区管理存在的主要问题是管理机构不健全、人员配置不合理和资金投入不足。因此,山东省自然保护区管理应进一步完善管理机构,合理配置人员,增加资金投入。     

Local Environmental Investments and Sustainable Development: the evaluation of environmental projects in Scotland supported by the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund

In the UK for the period 1994-99, a broad range of environmental projects were given financial support through the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund under the Objective 1 and Objective 5b programmes. This paper is concerned with the ex-post evaluation of these projects set within a Sustainable Development framework. The aim was to identify project types or characteristics that offered the greatest return on investment. A classification of six broad project types was adopted. The evaluation revealed that there were significant differences between individual projects with respect to the type and scale, and temporal and social distribution of the benefits they delivered. In particular, as well as delivering environmental and economic benefits, many projects made a significant contribution to the development of human and social capital. The paper concludes that it is possible to improve the basis for future project selection in order to maximise the returns on environmental investments in the context of sustainable development.     

Project XL: cheaper,cleaner, and smarter ways to protect the environment

Are you interested in making the job of complying with federal environmental requirements cheaper and smarter for your business? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is committed to helping business and other sectors make more sense of environmental requirements through a number of innovative programs, one of the most far‐reaching being Project XL. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

European environmental assistance to the region of Pskov in northwest Russia: sustainability,effectiveness and implications for environmental governance

The paper explores the impact and sustainability of environmental assistance coming to Russia from EU-based public and private foundations, and its implications for environmental governance. Geographically, the study ’encompassed all the assistance projects awarded in 1991–2016 involving beneficiaries from Pskovskaya Oblast’. This region is potentially an important target for EU investments in environmental infrastructure, due to its location by the EU border and high value of natural capital. The study demonstrates how the assumptions offered by the international aid literature (mostly derived from the global South) apply to Russia. We found major limitations to the assumption that co-financing provided by recipients ensures project effectiveness (demonstrating the acceptance of the donor's agenda) or sustainability (providing interest to the maintenance of outputs). Tangible assets are normally co-financed only if the investment was in agenda anyway (and therefore the donor gets only time gains, although this can be a valid purpose too); soft outputs (plans, surveys, policies, etc.) are usually co-financed in-kind, and therefore cannot secure any additional commitment. Likewise, physical infrastructure often ends up mismanaged due to low or no maintenance budgets available, while maintenance of soft outputs is too much dependent on contextual factors beyond the co-finance paradigm.     

Local Environmental Investments and Sustainable Development: The evaluation of environmental projects in Scotland supported by the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund

In the UK for the period 1994-99, a broad range of environmental projects were given financial support through the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund under the Objective 1 and Objective 5b programmes. This paper is concerned with the ex-post evaluation of these projects set within a Sustainable Development framework. The aim was to identify project types or characteristics that offered the greatest return on investment. A classification of six broad project types was adopted. The evaluation revealed that there were significant differences between individual projects with respect to the type and scale, and temporal and social distribution of the benefits they delivered. In particular, as well as delivering environmental and economic benefits, many projects made a significant contribution to the development of human and social capital. The paper concludes that it is possible to improve the basis for future project selection in order to maximise the returns on environmental investments in the context of sustainable development.     

OHS风险控制方法在烟气排放控制工程中的应用

介绍了烟气排放控制工程中OHS风险控制的方法,并以香港青山“B”电厂4X680MW机组排放控制工程（CPBEC）为例,阐述了目前国内外环保项目在OHS风险管理方面的差距和改进措施。     

Livelihood change and livelihood sustainability in the uplands of Lembang subwatershed, West Sumatra, Indonesia, in a changing natural resource management context

This paper analyzes livelihood change and livelihood sustainability of households in the upland part of the Lembang subwatershed, West Sumatra, in response to changes in the natural resource management context during the last decade. Using the sustainable livelihood framework (SLF), we measured livelihood changes at two separate points in time, 1996 and 2006, and assessed their environmental, economic, social, and institutional sustainability. We found that people with a low income had less access to capital assets than people from middle- and high-income groups. Our analysis revealed, however, that access to capital assets increased over time, and that poor households experienced economic improvement, indicating an overall increase in economic sustainability. Environmental sustainability, however, is threatened by intensive agricultural practices such as high agrochemical input and intensive soil tillage on steep slopes, leading to pollution and soil erosion. Social sustainability is also a matter of concern: while social exclusion has been reduced, income inequity has increased. Institutional sustainability is likely to remain uncertain, as local institutions for natural resource management are still weak, despite the fact that decentralization has been implemented during the last 8 years. External facilitation is needed to improve the livelihood of upland people while, at the same time, enhancing the sustainability of watershed management. Strengthening local institutions, conserving natural resources, and promoting environmentally sound agricultural practices are the three most important policies to be promoted within the watershed.     

重点工业行业碳排放现状与减排定位分析

基于企业样本数据和省级数据库,本文对中国电力、钢铁及水泥行业进行碳排放量核算、排放集中度分析、达峰情况分类及脱钩状态判断,并通过聚类分析方法判断各省份在减排行动中的定位。结果表明,全国钢铁及水泥行业碳排放量在2014年后增长明显放缓,电力行业碳排放量持续上升;在省级层面,电力、钢铁及水泥行业分别有15个、7个及12个省份碳排放量仍在快速增长;在空间分布上,电力行业碳排放呈现"东高西低",钢铁行业碳排放集中在河北周边,水泥行业碳排放呈现"南高北低中部突出";时间趋势上,各省份电力行业和水泥行业逐渐实现碳排放量与产品产量之间的脱钩,在产量增长的情况下碳排放量增长减缓甚至降低,各省份钢铁行业碳排放量与产量之间的脱钩状态则较为多样化。     

生态资产核算与生态补偿机制研究

生态资产是实现人类可持续发展的重要基础,如何科学评估和核算生态资产并建立生态补偿机制具有重要的学术价值与现实意义。本文从厘清生态资产的概念与范畴出发,梳理了有关生态资产核算方法与生态补偿机制的研究进展,并对下一步研究的重点提出了相关建议。本文认为,加强城市群生态资产相关研究很有必要,建议从生态资产空间流转与代谢的视角出发,综合考虑宏观方法与微观方法相结合,定量化评估生态资产的存量和流量,刻画生态资产的空间流转路径与代谢网络关系,深入分析关键利益相关方的价值偏好,构建市场化生态资产补偿机制,为实现生态资产合理利用提供重要的理论参考与实证参照。     

Social Capital in an Outdoor Recreation Context

This study examined social capital development in three all-terrain vehicles (ATV) clubs in Maine using an adapted version of Lin’s (2001) social capital theory model. The structural components of social capital identified included collective assets and individual assets in the form of normative behavior and trust relationships. Also identified were counter-norms for individual ATV riders identified as having divergent norms from club members. The second component of social capital is access to and mobilization of network contacts and resources. Access networks in the context of the ATV clubs studied were identified as community and landowner relations while mobilization of resources was existent in club membership attempts toward self-governance and efforts of the statewide “umbrella” organization. Instrumental outcomes benefit society and expressive outcomes benefit the individual. Both types of returns are present in the data suggesting that ATV clubs are creating social capital. This is important information to clubs who desire to market themselves, improve their reputations, and enhance their volunteer association. It is of further interest to state governments who fund clubs through trail grants as proof that a return on investment is being realized. Theoretical and applied implications for these and other types of recreation-based volunteer associations (e.g., clubs, friends groups, advocacy groups) are presented.     

Creating sustainable environmental health conditions by redefining municipal roles and responsibilities: experiences from Tunisia and Ecuador

The multiple and interlinked problems that plague most peri-urban communities can only be successfully addressed and resolved if roles and responsibilities of all actors in the urban setting are redistributed. This will require fundamental changes in the way municipalities work and define their accomplishments. Behaviour needs to change at all levels, beginning with public sector institutions responsible for communities. Without changes at the municipal level, requisite changes at the community level to remedy the root causes of environment-related illness, do not occur. Public sector institutions and communities, working as partners with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, and, most importantly, with mutual trust, can together make real progress toward improving health and well-being in peri-urban settlements. This article discusses two recent projects sponsored by the Environmental Health Project of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID): an 18-month pilot project to improve peri-urban environmental health in two cities in Tunisia, and a project in Ecuador to support the Ministry of Health in combating cholera in affected provinces. The following examples, methodology, and results may be useful to officials and donor organizations in designing environmental health projects.     

The issue of sustainability and disclosure. A case study of selective garbage collection by the Urban Cleaning Service of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - COMLURB

The Urban Cleaning Company of the City of Rio de Janeiro - COMLURB launched the Recycling Separation Center Project (Projeto Central de Separação de Recicláveis or CSR) in 2003. The objectives of the project were the adequate disposal of solid urban waste as well as the generation of employment and income. The COMLURB Project had economic, environmental and social facets, and the researchers sought to establish whether COMLURB had prepared reports that would enable evaluation of the investment made and the results obtained. In particular, the researchers sought to establish whether COMLURB financial statements set out the results of actions inherent to the CSR. We concluded from our analysis of the Project that the three elements of sustainability (social, environmental and economic), despite being fully present, were not adequately demonstrated. This study therefore proposes a model report with a view to enabling various information users to evaluate the results of the CSR Project.     

修建三江工程对绵阳城环境影响的初步探讨

本文概念了绵阳城附近的自然环境与社会环境，分析了修建三江工程带来的生态效益，经济效益及社会效益，又估计到一些可能产生的不利影响及减免设想，最后，从城市环境保护角度强调环境措施对三江工程成败的意义。     

我国生态环境资产负债表编制框架研究*

本文根据生态环境资产负债表的基本概念和理论,提出了生态环境资产负债表编制的总体框架,同时,针对环境容量资产、环境质量产品、生态产品资产的特点,分别建立了相应框架体系,提出了环境资产负债表的应用决策方向。本文研究成果对于确立统一的生态环境资产核算标准和方法、使我国生态环境资产负债核算工作逐步规范化、制度化的轨道具有重要的现实意义。