Choosing an appropriate university or college environmental management system

Universities considering integrating an environmental management system (EMS) have numerous decisions to consider. Should they pursue a formal certified model or an informal uncertified one? If informal is appropriate, which framework best meets their needs? Which environmental interactions are most important to manage? Are there any other sector-specific considerations? This article discusses six different campus EMS frameworks, three different categories of drivers, and the six unique features of a campus EMS, and offers suggestions on when each framework is best applied. The frameworks considered are from: ISO 14001; Higher Education 21 (UK); the EMS Self-Assessment Checklist (USA); the Auditing Instrument for Sustainability in Higher Education (Netherlands); the Osnabrück University model (Germany) and the Sustainable University model (Mexico). This article also draws upon the empirical experiences of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada.     

An integrated approach to achieving campus sustainability: assessment of the current campus environmental management practices

Universities can nowadays be regarded as ‘small cities’ due to their large size, population, and the various complex activities taking place in campuses, which have some serious direct and indirect impacts on the environment. The environmental pollution and degradation caused by universities in form of energy and material consumption via activities and operations in teaching and research, provision of support services and in residential areas could be considerably reduced by an effective choice of organizational and technical measures. Although many environmental protection measures can be seen at some universities, but a more systematic and sustainable approach to reducing the negative impacts of those activities and making the campuses more sustainable, is generally lacking. Therefore, this paper proposes a framework of a more suitable approach to achieving campus sustainability that could remedy the limitations of the current environmental management practices in universities and ensures more sustainability through the integration of three strategies, namely: university Environmental Management System (EMS); public participation and social responsibility; and promoting sustainability in teaching and research.     

Training and communication in the implementation of environmental management systems (ISO 14001): a case study at the University of Gävle,Sweden

Training and communication are essential elements in the implementation of environmental management systems (EMS). This study is based on two main questions: (i) What methods for training and communication will support the implementation of EMS at a university? and, (ii) How did faculty and staff perceive the training and communication activities? The study includes a literature review, a case study of methods for training and communication, and results of a semi quantitative survey of the perception of training and communication. All activities took place at the University of Gävle (Sweden). The University of Gävle was certified according to ISO 14001 in 2004. Practical experiences from the implementation of EMS in industry were used as reference.The literature review indicates that training is a key factor during implementation of EMS, and that training may change attitude and behaviour among managers and employees. Similar conclusions can be drawn from this study. The case study, and practical experiences from industry, indicate that similar methods of EMS training and communication can be shared by industry and universities. However, “academic freedom” and “critical thinking” may result in the need for more interactive training methods at a university than in industry. The results of the survey indicate that the training and communication have increased awareness of environmental issues. A deeper understanding of the personal role in the EMS was also observed. It can be concluded that the EMS training and communication team has a demanding task to introduce the concept of indirect environmental aspects at a university. Lecturers and researchers should be convinced that the greening of a college involves more than, for example, reducing the consumption of paper. The main role of EMS at a university should be to focus on indirect environmental aspects, for example, to introduce environmental and sustainability issues in courses and research.     

An environmental management system implementation model for U.S. colleges and universities

The Osnabruck model, and another under development by the South Carolina Sustainable Universities Initiative, are the only two EMS models that have been proposed specifically for colleges and universities, although several guides are now available. The Environmental Management System Implementation Model for U.S. Colleges and Universities detailed in this paper, an adaptation of the ISO 14001 standard and USEPA recommendations, has been tailored to U.S. colleges and universities for use in streamlining the implementation process. In using this three-phased implementation model created for the U.S. research and academic setting, it is hoped that these highly specialized institutions will be provided with a clearer and more cost-effective path towards the implementation of an EMS and greater compliance with local, state and federal environmental legislation.     

Joint management of energy and environment

According to the Kyoto Protocol, by 2012 Norwegian emissions of greenhouse gases must be reduced by about six per cent lower than the 1996 level. In order to achieve this target, the Norwegian Government intends to give greater priority to energy efficiency measures, renewable energy sources and the use of heat pumps.Even though Energy Management should be integrated in EMS, empirical data indicates that it is not. Energy Management is separated from EMS in Norwegian industry. Focusing on the quality of the energy consumed, facilitates the utilization of wasted, low temperature energy sources. However, empirical data indicate that energy intensive food companies do not emphasize the portion of renewable energy sources they consume, or the quality of their energy consumption. This paper discusses integration of Energy Management into EMS. Better integration of existing energy and environmental schemes represents a CO₂ reduction potential that may be realised at short-term, net cost savings. This paper argues for the joint management of energy with the environment.     

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.     

Identification of environmental aspects in an EMS context: a methodological framework for the Swedish National Rail Administration

Environmental aspects are basic elements in an Environmental Management System (EMS). The identification of environmental aspects is, however, recognized as one of the most complicated parts in establishing an EMS and has been subject to criticism concerning, e.g., lack of transparency and reproducibility. This paper evaluates the Swedish National Rail Administration's (Banverket) current practice for the identification of environmental aspects. A better link between activity, aspect and impact is needed. A more stringent identification procedure would improve Banverket's environmental management. The paper proposes a structured framework for the identification of environmental aspects at Banverket.     

Is an environmental management system able to influence environmental and competitive performance? The case of the eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) in the European union

The EMAS Regulation (Reg 761/01 EC) is EU scheme implemented by the European Commission since 1993 and it is for the implementation of an Environmental Management System (EMS) by any organization. The EMS was originally proposed by the European Commission and by the ISO as the frontrunner of a series of policy tools that enable companies to simultaneously pursue environmental objectives and competitive targets in a synergetic way.Based on the unique dataset of the EVER project, this paper investigates whether or not an EMS implemented within the EMAS Regulation has any effect on firm performance both from an environmental and a competitive point of view. Our econometric analysis shows the positive impact of a well-designed environmental management system on environmental performance and, as a consequence, on technical and organizational innovations. Effects on other competitive variables such as market performance, resource productivity and intangible assets are not strongly supported.     

University ranking using research,educational and environmental indicators

This paper introduces a model, which is enabling a comparison between universities regarding research, educational and environmental performances; the mission of university fits the sustainability idea. The purpose of the paper is to improve the methodology and indicators of the existing ranking tables. The three dimensional index, which provides simplified information about the quality of universities, has been developed. It enables quick detection of the weaknesses, strengths and opportunities for universities. Weights of indicators were determined using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Results of the AHP have shown that the most important are research oriented indicators, followed by social and environmental ones.The proposed model has been tested on a sample of 35 top universities from the ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities) and Times ranking tables and a new ranking table – the Three dimensional University Ranking (TUR) has been developed. In addition, correlations between indicators and ranking tables have been carried out. There is only a medium correlation between the ARWU and TUR. Regarding the indicators, a high correlation with Hirsch indices and Highly Cited Researchers exists, while there is an insignificant correlation between the low student to staff ratio and the graduation rate.     

Implementing environmental with other standardized management systems: Scope,sequence, time and integration

The aim of this article is to analyze how the implementation of the environmental management system (EMS) in accordance with the ISO 14001: 2004 standard has been carried out in organizations having more than one standardized Management System (MSs). In particular, four implementation aspects will be discussed, namely the different management system standards (MSSs) used for registration, for example ISO 14001, ISO 9001, OHSAS 18001, ISO 27001 and SA 8000, the order in which they were implemented, the time required for each implementation, as well as the scope of integration of these MSSs into a single Integrated Management System (IMS).In order to do so, some of the results of a survey carried out in 176 organizations registered to, at a minimum, both ISO 14001: 2004 and ISO 9001: 2000 standards for environmental and quality management, respectively, are presented. As one of the few existing empirical studies regarding the integration of multiple MSs, this research reveals the importance of the different possibilities which organizations can opt for when considering EMS implementation. For example, while most respondents implemented ISO 9001 before ISO 14001, others did so simultaneously or even applied ISO 14001 first. Furthermore, although a large majority of organizations integrated their EMS with additional standardized MSs, a small percentage did not. Apart from illustrating the survey outcomes, the article contains a detailed case analysis of four specific organizations with high environmental awareness that have implemented quality and other standardized MSs.     

中国煤炭环境成本内部化的经济影响分析

对煤炭开采、运输和使用各个环节的环境污染和生态破坏外部成本进行核算的基础上,运用GREAT-E模型对煤炭环境成本内部化政策给GDP、居民收入、产业结构和贸易竞争力等带来的影响进行了定量分析.分析结果表明,煤炭开采、运输和使用各环节分别进行的环境成本内部化对中国宏观经济的影响较为有限,GDP的下降在可承受的范围之内,即使是全生命周期的煤炭环境成本完全内部化也只导致GDP出现0.15%左右的轻微下降.煤炭环境成本内部化将促进劳动力和资本等要素从高耗能行业向低耗能特别是技术密集型和现代服务业部门转移,进而推动产业结构优化转型升级.在煤炭生产、运输和消费环节通过征收环境相关税费能够更直接地刺激生产部门的环境行为调整,降低煤炭的生产和消费量,进而减少环境污染和生态破坏.     

建筑材料隐含环境影响评估

我国建筑业快速发展,建筑开发使用大量的建筑材料给资源和环境带来严重负荷.以上海市为案例,运用生命周期评价方法,基于北京工业大学和Ecoinvent数据库中的建筑材料生产数据,采用ReCiPe法对上海市建筑物的材料隐含环境影响进行评估,并对未来的环境影响潜值进行预测.结果表明:在上海市居住建筑和非居住建筑所产生的各类环境影响中人类毒性、金属损耗最为突出,约占总环境影响的45%和20%;环境影响主要来源于钢筋和木材的生产,对各类环境影响贡献度分别约为47%、17%;高层居住建筑和非居住建筑中的工厂建筑物化环境影响在各自类型中所占比例最高.按现有趋势发展,2020年上海市居住建筑开发规模和环境影响潜值均将达到2014年的1.52倍,非居住建筑则可达到2014年的1.14倍.针对上海市建筑材料环境影响分析结果,为有效减轻上海市建筑物的环境影响,需重点关注钢筋、铝材、木材以及混凝土的生产,识别生产过程中污染物转移环节进而改进工序;在设计阶段考虑选择环境影响负荷低的绿色建材,如混凝土砌块、高性能混凝土等,从而降低环境影响;同时,应重点关注隐含环境负荷高的高层居住和工厂建筑类建筑,通过降低建材使用量等方案降低环境影响.      

The role of environmental statisticians in environmental policy: the case of performance measurement

Environmental statisticians often experience the difficult task to provide clear results for environmental policy objectives on the basis of complex science, limited data, and many sources of uncertainty. This paper highlights the particularly challenging situation of environmental statistics in developing countries before focusing on the role of statisticians working at the nexus of environmental statistics and policy within the context of measuring environmental performance. Three issues create particular tension at the environmental science-policy junction: (1) the general complexity of environmental problems (including scientific uncertainty and insufficient data) and the often negative perceptions associated with their solution, (2) the comparatively recent introduction of quantitative methods and information to the environmental policy process and continued skepticism and ideologically motivated resistance to their routine integration, and (3) the language barriers between policymakers and statisticians as well as between statisticians and other scientists engaged in environmental research. Based on the case study of the 2006 Pilot Environmental Performance Index (EPI) developed by an interdisciplinary team at the universities Yale and Columbia the paper examines how the EPI tackles these tensions while aiming to be a fact-based, statistically sound policy tool that helps countries achieve environmental objectives by tracking progress, identifying environmental “best practices”, and providing strategic peer-group analyses. In conclusion, the paper suggests some remedies for the deficiencies in the co-operation between policymakers and environmental statisticians.     

大学生生态教育现状调查研究

环保教育是全方位的环境保护和可持续发展意识的教育，是全民教育、全程教育和终身教育，大学生的生态教育是大学生素质教育的重要环节。通过对云南大学1000名学生的问卷调查，分析了大学生生态意识的现状并提出大学生生态教育的对策。     

Fostering P2 practices in northwest Mexico through inter-university collaboration

This paper describes the relationship between the Work Environment Department of the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the United States and the Industrial Engineering Department of the University of Sonora in Mexico to promote P2 practices in northwest Mexico. The relationship is an example of how international collaborations can be fostered between universities from developed and developing countries by encouraging cooperation around technology transfer, training assistance, technical support, and information dissemination. The collaboration between these two universities around technology transfer has sought first to provide a source of information on innovative technologies that have environmental and economical advantages, and subsequently to identify industry needs and provide solutions through technology research and development at the University of Sonora.     

ISO14000标准中重大环境因素的判别方法

建立符合、有效的环境管理体系是组织实施 ISO14000环境管理标准的主要内容,而判别重大环境因素则是这一过程的基础和关键．本文探讨了判别重大环境因素的原则和标准,总结和介绍了多标准综合评价法、等标污染负荷－排污频率法等重大环境因素判别方法．     

Evaluating the environmental performance of a university

An increasing number of organisations are moving towards assessing and reporting their environmental performance in a supply-chain context. Not only are such “footprint”-type assessments seen as more rigorous than sustainability reports created in-house, they also offer more abatement options than assessments limited to an organisation’s premises. Hybrid life-cycle assessment methods combining input-output analysis and process analysis are ideally suited to enumerate organisational footprints, because they were developed to enable overall complete results whilst being application-specific. We apply one of these hybrid methods, the Path Exchange Method to the task of planning for a sustainable campus at the University of Sydney in Australia. We show how this method can be used by an environmental or procurement officer for exploring environmental performance and abatement options across supply chains. We also show how parts of an organisation, for example University faculties, can be assessed and compared against each other. Whilst tools like ones used in this work enable quantitative decision support for procurement and operations policies, it takes staff awareness, engagement and training to successfully put such tools into practice.     

Environmental indicators for small and medium enterprises in the Philippines: An empirical research

Environmental indicators allow a firm to make measurements related to its environmental performance. In practical terms, they can be used to form a measuring, benchmarking and monitoring tool to track environmental performance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).Within an Environmental Management System (EMS), environmental indicators can be used to check if a firm has met the targets it is required to set for itself. It can also be used in firms that have not yet implemented an EMS. The use of an Environmental Indicators System (EIS) is thus recommended for SMEs, many of which do not have an EMS, in order to enhance their environmental performance. As noted in A Guide to Corporate Environmental Indicators published by the Federal Environment Ministry (Bonn) and the Federal Environmental Agency (Berlin), three categories of environmental indicators can be developed, depending on whether they describe: (1) a company's environmental impact (environmental performance); (2) the management's environmental activities; or (3) the external condition of the company's environment.The objective of this paper is to present how environmental indicators were established and implemented for Philippine SMEs and to show that the indicators significantly correlate with the environmental performance of the SMEs. In order to test this hypothesis, a survey-questionnaire was designed and administered among SMEs covering six industrial sectors in the Philippines. Based on the survey responses, a Gap analysis between the environmental performances of SMEs and state-of-the-art companies was performed. The Gap analysis showed that environmental indicators were indeed able to capture the features of actual environmental performance.Further, a structural equation model was proposed and validated. It yielded a significant linkage between the environmental indicators and environmental performance.     

Assessment of environmental aspects and determination of environmental targets within environmental management systems (EMS) – development of a procedure for Volkswagen

Since the revision of EMAS (EMAS II), a central role within this EU-regulated environmental management system has been assigned to the assessment of significant environmental aspects as the basis for identification of an organisation's environmental targets. However, EMAS only provides some general guidelines on the assessment of environmental aspects. To comply with the requirements of EMAS II, Volkswagen AG initiated the development of a comprehensive systematic approach which is now to be applied throughout Volkswagen's production sites. This article describes the elements of this approach. A methodological section discusses issues concerning the scientific assessment of environmental aspects, taking into account reproducibility, scientific acceptance and geographical representativeness of existing methods as well as time consumption and understandability for decision-makers. In addition, practical procedures to define environmental targets were worked out during two audits of Volkswagen's production sites, focusing on collaborative workshops with environmental experts, process experts and decision-makers to identify production-integrated improvements and enhance environmental sensitivity throughout the company.