Do people have a negative impression of government on polluted days? Evidence from Chinese Cities

Chinese governments play a key role in providing environmental public goods. Urban air quality is a significant indicator with which people evaluate the effects of governments’ environmental regulations and investments. This study aims to investigate how people's impression of government varies with air pollution in Chinese cities. Using the Baidu online search index on the specific keyword ‘corruption’ to represent public attitude toward the government, our estimations show that an increase in air pollution level yields a significant increase in online searches on this word. Such an effect is more significant on heavily polluted or severely polluted days. In further estimations, we find that people will not pay more attention to the polluters themselves on polluted days. These results are consistent with previous studies that air pollution causes people to be more depressed, selfish and sensitive to fairness. We conclude that efforts on air quality improvement will create a positive impression of government.     

Pragmatic ethics and the new consultant

Ethical, social, and environmental concerns are beginning to take hold in many businesses, often as an extension of total quality management. Many professional firms have eluded the global trend, but social and ecological realities are catching up. What will the new professional firm look like? This article looks at how firms are finding competitive advantage in old-fashioned integrity, combined with management techniques and a new scientific understanding of what it takes to successfully adapt in a world of limited resources. “Ethics is awareness of interdependence…” Aldo Leopold.     

Junk mail in residential homes in the United States: Insights from a sub-urban home in California

Although systematic studies tracking junk mail sent to residential homes are lacking, available reports indicate it is a growing problem in many urban centers worldwide. Junk mail increases the number of trees harvested each year, consumes a substantial amount of energy, causes pollution to air, water and soil and wastes a substantial amount of time sorting, mailing and recycling. Junk mail collected at one residence in the United States for a period of one full year is analyzed to find out the main contributors to this urban problem, what residents should do to reduce or eliminate it. Results indicate that three major businesses are responsible for over 70% of total junk mail sent (n = 1255) including credit card, mortgage and insurance corporations. To encourage environmental sustainability, several strategies that can help businesses reduce junk mail are suggested including new advertising techniques, use of other outlets like billboards, outreach events in social functions and adopting eco-friendly techniques in any junk mail production. Considering the revenue and jobs created from junk mail business, and the absence of government regulation and lack of consensus amongst individuals, environmental groups and businesses on what needs to be done; individuals are urged to explore ways to mitigate the problem and a number of recommendations are given.     

Applying the baldrige quality criteria to environmental performance: Lessons from leading organizations

Over the last thirty years, we have seen a dramatic shift in values that people and corporations place on environmental responsibility. People have become more aware of how the earth's limited resources are being rapidly depleted. High levels of consumption have resulted in increasing manufacturing and transportation needs which in turn lead to greater energy use, higher usage of hazardous and toxic substances, and decreased air and water quality. Leadership for environmental protection has shifted from vocal environmental advocacy groups to corporate executives. Driven by shifting customer requirements, competitive pressures, and resource conservation technologies, environmental issues are becoming embedded in the fundamental business strategies. In this article we will describe the application of the Malcolm Baldrige quality award criteria to environmental management and show how the focus on quality principles and tools can improve profitability. Examples from the Xerox Corporation and other companies will be provided to illustrate the breadth of environmental improvement initiatives that are being implemented.     

Integrating product quality and environmental performance through innovation—the l'oréal case

Meeting the demands of today's marketplace has become an increasingly complex challenge for corporations in all industries. The consumer is demanding high-quality products, low cost, and more recently, a new variable: environmental performance. Customers will not accept sacrifices in quality or cost to help businesses meet regulatory requirements or develop environmentally sound products. They want it all. Consequently, companies are faced with the complex task of balancing cost, quality, and environmental performance.     

Expanding the benefits of environmental management systems through DFE

Industry's role in environmental protection is changing and growing. Increasing evidence shows that a corporation's understanding and response to environmental issues and concerns can have strategically important consequences for some kinds of businesses.¹ Focusing on concepts of prevention, industry has developed and struggled with a number of environmental approaches, all of which attempt to link the environment with common business practice. Industry has followed and in some cases embraced concepts and approaches like sustainable development, eco-efficiency, green manufacturing, pollution prevention, and extended product responsibility. A particularly timely and promising strategy to reduce the environmental impact of both manufacturing and product use while enhancing business success is the integration of environmental management systems (EMS) with design for the environment (DFE) efforts. A desirable relationship can and should exist between DFE and EMS. This relationship has not been well understood, but is crucial to fulfill the promise of each. In application, the institutionalization of DFE in an organization is difficult and tenuous at best. Some authors suggest that management issues block the implementation of DFE.² Others say that DFE has not been institutionalized to the extent that pollution prevention has.³ This article suggests that through an explicit connection between an EMS and DFE, DFE can extend the promise of EMS to reduce industry's environmental impact and produce business success, and it can do so in an ongoing way. The authors will show the importance of an EMS/DFE linkage, suggest company types that might benefit from investigating these approaches, and then review a series of DFE tool types.     

Case study: Sonoco's materials reclamation improves environmental performance through quality-based management

Multinational corporations are facing increasing pressures and finding stronger incentives to integrate environmental management into their overall business strategies. National and local environmental regulations are becoming more stringent in Europe, Japan, East and Southeast Asia, Latin America, and many developing countries, and international voluntary standards of environmental management are being endorsed by a growing number of governments. Multinational firms are embracing these standards not only to assure the public of their concern for environmental protection, but also to enhance their competitiveness in international markets. The British Standard 7750, the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), and the ISO 14000 series are setting new guidelines for effective corporate environmental management. Beyond complying with local and national laws, corporations now have wider latitude in how they adapt their business practices to these emerging environmental management standards. In order to capitalize on that creative latitude, companies must have corporate cultures and internal management systems that allow them to respond quickly and effectively to changing environmental requirements. Exemplary corporate environmental performance is usually related to strong and progressive leadership, a culture that recognizes the importance of environmental protection, and the willingness to operate by quality-based management principles. This article describes how one international corporation, Sonoco, in responding successfully to changing environmental pressures to reclaim and recycle its products in the wake of the solid waste crisis in the United States and more stringent environmental regulations in Europe, used its management competencies and corporate culture to turn what could have been serious barriers to expansion of its core businesses into new opportunities. By adopting a bold materials reclamation program, Sonoco was able to overcome potential limitations on its operations in the United States and abroad and to develop new business segments that benefited the company and the environment.     

From pioneering to organised business: the development of ecological farming in China

ABSTRACT

Small-scale ecological farming and their associated alternative food networks, are increasingly important in China, as a response to poor farm incomes and as a contribution to widespread concerns about environmental degradation and food safety. However, despite the enormous market potential and the notable success of some ventures, this type of farming remains at the margins, with many businesses struggling to develop beyond their start-up phase and consumers struggling to build confidence in the new produce and routes to market. Many of these farms display the classic elements of pioneer businesses, including high reliance on charismatic individuals, insecure land rights, high transaction and monitoring costs and fragile routes to market. Empirically, many of these businesses fail because they cannot grow out of the pioneer phase before the pioneer grows tired of the business. While this is a problem for all small businesses, it is particularly acute in business sectors like ecological farming in China, where there is little evidence of suitable and sustainable developmental models. Using Bernardus Lievegoed's work on organisational development applied to two case study farms, we suggest that there are Western developmental models that are applicable to small-scale ecological farming and that have the potential to offer insights into how this might be achieved with Chinese characteristics. We conclude by arguing that, Chinese ecological farms have to plan explicitly for a form of development that allows them to remain committed to their ideals while moving them away from dependence on charismatic people, family labour and volatile customer bases.     

Managing Asia's environmental crisis: EQM opportunities for remediation and technology transfer

Conditions of environmental pollution and degradation in Asia are among the worst in the world. Rapid economic growth and industrialization over the past half century have accelerated the pollution of air, water, and land resources in a region with the world's largest concentration of population. As the economics of Asia recover from financial crisis in the late 1990s, they will face a more serious environmental crisis in the early years of the 21st century. Remediation of soil and water contamination will become a stronger concern in the region, as the human health impacts become more visible and widespread. Although environmental remediation is only beginning to emerge in Asia as a solution to problems of natural resource degradation, the authors show how U.S. firms with experience in quality environmental management and biological remediation technologies will find new opportunities for exports and technology transfer. Environmental technology and services firms interested in Asia must understand both the opportunities for and barriers to operating in Asia.     

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.     

Community Attempts at Sustainable Development through Corporate Accountability

Sustainable development serves current needs without compromising the ability to serve future needs. Such is not likely given the structure of modern corporations and feeble attempts by governments to hold them accountable. This paper examines efforts by environment and labour coalitions in the United States to rein in the power of corporationsthrough such innovative practices as 'good neighbour' agreements aiming to reduce both community and worker exposure to pollution, repeal of the corporate charter for those businesses that are a public nuisance, and linking subsidies and tax relief routinely doled out to corporations to some accounting for pollution abatement, job security and economic justice.     

PROMOTING GROUND WATER POLLUTION PREVENTION IN SMALL BUSINESSES1

ABSTRACT: Although they have not been the focus of major regulations, small businesses can contribute pollutants to ground water through routine practices. Because strict regulation of millions of micro firms is not likely, water resource professionals face a challenge of how to reach small business operators with effective pollution prevention messages. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence a small business operator to adopt measures that reduce potential ground water pollution. We looked at how information delivery, internal business characteristics, and external relationships are associated with voluntary preventive measures. Mail surveys from small businesses in New Jersey municipalities and interviews with business owners provided data about business characteristics and current pollution prevention activities. Findings suggested that businesses doing the most to prevent ground water pollution were generally more connected to external organizations and had more financial and technical resources. The study also discovered that small business owners fear government involvement in their affairs. The study concludes with recommendations to encourage more voluntary adoption of prevention measures by businesses. These center on separating assistance programs from enforcement and involving industry peer groups in an effort to make information available in a non-threatening manner.     

提高土壤环境管理成效:推进三大环境要素协同治理

经过长期的大气污染和水污染治理实践,各地积累了一定的技术、工程和管理经验,但随着土壤污染问题的日益凸显,三大环境要素质量如何整体提升、确保区域生态系统服务功能稳定持续发挥、满足人民群众对环境产品的需求,成为各级政府推进环境基本公共服务均等化过程中需要正视和亟待破解的一个难题。本文在系统分析当前环境污染以单要素为主线实施治理的总体思路所面临困境的基础上,基于生态系统整体性和区域统筹考量,从治理主体、治理手段、治理过程三个方面,提出推进土壤环境-水环境-大气环境协同治理的基本路径,为国家出台土壤环境管理相关政策措施、促进城镇化过程中区域环境质量整体改善提供参考。     

基于模糊数学的大气环境质量综合评价

鉴于大气环境质量评价中客观存在的不确定性和模糊性,运用模糊数学方法,选用SO2、NO2、PM10作为评价因子,参照大气环境质量标准,通过计算污染因子权重分配系数和隶属度对乌鲁木齐市2004年至2010年大气环境质量给出客观的评价,综合评价结果表明乌鲁木齐市总体大气环境质量为轻度污染(三级),但空气质量在逐年好转,SO2和PM10依然是乌鲁木齐市空气质量的制约因子,且NO2的权重在逐年上升。模糊综合评判考虑环境空气质量评价的模糊性,根据污染物浓度对各级别的贴近度考察污染物的级别,评价结果比较直观,可以细致准确的评价环境质量等级,评价结果基本可以反映环境空气污染的情况。     

Benchmarking compliance performance: A new petroleum industry report

Environmental Information Services, Inc. (EIS) publishes detailed reports and offers custom research related to the full spectrum of environmental issues facing corporations. In this new article, EIS reports on the compliance performance of the largest companies in the petroleum industry focusing on five key environmental concerns: toxic waste management, air pollution, water pollution, spills, and Superfund. It is important to note that the following article does not contain normalized data and graphs which would adjust findings to various size features (e.g., worldwide revenues per company). This as well as detailed environmental policy and program data on each company can be obtained from EIS. EIS reports help companies of all sizes benchmark their environmental performance and quality improvement efforts.     

区域大气污染防治管理系统建设需求分析

区域大气污染防治管理系统是生态环境保护信息化工程(《"十二五"国家政务信息化工程建设规划》中规划的国家级信息系统之一)项目建设的重要内容之一.本文对区域大气污染防治管理系统的建设需求进行了分析,系统针对大尺度的区域性大气环境质量问题,紧密结合国务院"大气污染防治行动计划"的目标任务要求,开展数据调度与综合分析等功能的建设,旨在通过数据分析提高重点区域大气环境质量状况与污染成因的评估能力,通过情景模拟与模型运算为区域大气污染治理措施的制定与动态调整提供定量化数据支持.系统的建设与实施将有望成为国家大气污染防治领域跨部门数据共享与交换的基础工程,为区域大气污染防治工作提供有力的信息化技术支撑.     

Making sense of public values: Environmental controversies for corporate decision makers

Every year I try to choose the “word of the year”—that is, the word that will be the most topical and overused in the news, politics, and business. Past “words of the year” were leadership, excellence, quality, and so on. This year's, without a doubt, must be values. Just listen to any political speech and you'll be sure to hear it! Magazine article after magazine article makes reference to values—family values, social values, public values, personal values, etc. Business is beginning to experience first-hand the power of this word and the controversy it engenders, especially in the area of environmental issues. Corporations already heavily scrutinized by the public on operational issues like facility expansion, pollution, emissions, product acceptance, etc., are struggling to assess how best to manage competing public values. What do we do when the public has one value and business has another? Or, how can choices be made between two operating needs that compete for the same budget? It is the dilemma posed by values in conflict that this article explores. Once the domain of scholars and philosophers, this timely topic is now demanding the consideration and awareness of everyone in the business world.     

Getting started with environmental cost accounting

Proactive corporations have been looking at methods to determine the real costs of doing business, including environmental costs using environmental cost accounting (ECA) methodology. Many companies do not track or measure environmental costs and therefore do not know their true environmental costs. Unfortunately, conventional accounting practices rarely tease out environmental costs, and the costs associated with environmental compliance remain hidden in general overhead accounts. ECA can bring the world of business and the environment closer. When we have a better handle on environmental costs, we can use this information to better prioritize environmental projects, identify cost improvement projects, and allocate environmental costs to products. In this article we explore how some companies approach ECA and show how to initiate an ECA program.     

Making pollution prevention part of the coors culture

This article is about Total Quality Management and its relationship to corporate environmental affairs. As the TQM movement expands, the commitment to continuous quality improvement, customer satisfaction, and collaborative, team-oriented workplaces is finding new applications. Just as the success of Federal Express, AT&T, and other winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award shows that Total Quality Management can transform a business, we also are learning of successes companies are having applying TQM principles to environmental management. Our experience with TQM and environmental management at Coors Brewing Company is in the area of pollution prevention. In addition to our brewing operations, we also operate the country's largest aluminum can manufacturing plant, where we produce 4 billion cans a year, a separate facility that makes the can tops, a glass bottle manufacturing plant, and various support facilities. In all, we have some 7,000 employees, and building a commitment to pollution prevention in an operation of that size requires much more than just adopting quality principles. In this article we show how it also means understanding how those principles will mesh with the corporate culture. What we found is that before TQM can begin its magic, a company must review its own culture to see how problems have traditionally been solved and how challenges have been met.     

Making the Business Case for Sustainability: How to Account for Intangible Benefits—A Case Study Approach

Sustainability is continuing to change the way businesses operate. Stakeholders are insisting that corporations implement more responsible business practices, and they are holding them increasingly accountable for their associated environmental and social impacts. Research has provided significant contributions toward sustainability‐related tools and best practices, allowing sustainability to be integrated even farther across business operations. However, challenges still exist, preventing many companies from fully integrating sustainability. Although intangible benefits are not commonly included in business case assessments, such benefits can be derived through sustainability initiatives and may offer additional value in evaluating the business case for sustainability. In this article, we review current literature on accounting methods for the business case for sustainability as well as currently available methods or tools that are capable of estimating intangible benefits. In addition, we use case studies to illustrate if, and how, companies are accounting for intangible benefits, and we identify best methods for accounting for intangible benefits.