From the Whitehorse Mining Initiative Towards Sustainable Mining: lessons learned

Much debate has taken place within the mineral policy community about whether or not meaningful progress has been made towards more sustainable practices. This paper investigates the changing approaches towards sustainable development undertaken by the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) over a period of approximately 20 years. The analysis begins in the early 1990s when MAC initiated the Whitehorse Mining Initiative (WMI) and concludes in 2010 when the association was operating under a strategy entitled Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM). The goal is to consider the nature of the learning that has taken place towards sustainability within the mineral industry using the case of a leading national mining association. The investigation was undertaken through a literature review as well as key informant interviews with stakeholders affected by the Canadian Mining Industry. Findings suggest that MAC’s approach to sustainable development has shifted from an ambitious and holistic partnership involving a range of stakeholders to a focused, member-specific agenda that addresses a few performance issues. The transition to TSM was based on lessons learned through working with the WMI and subsequent efforts. It reflects broader corporate tendencies to address social and ecological issues through corporate social responsibility initiatives. The implications of these trends suggest that voluntary initiatives in and of themselves should not be expected to replace the comprehensive regulatory responsibilities historically provided by government.     

A conceptual framework for analyzing sustainability strategies in industrial supply networks from an innovation perspective

This article proposes a new conceptual framework concerning the implementation of sustainability in supply networks from an innovation perspective. Based upon a recent qualitative literature review in environmental, social/ethical and logistics/operations management journals, this article summarizes and analyses the approaches found. Concluded is that even though innovation, socialization, experimental learning and cultural perspectives have been acknowledged as being relevant to explaining supply network dynamics in general, they are rarely included in the current frameworks concerning sustainability. The question still remains why companies influenced by the same external factors and similar in size and power develop a different strategy towards sustainability aspects in their supply network. The article demonstrates with the first results of a survey held in the fashion/clothing sector the relevance of this question.The proposed conceptual framework states that the capability to develop a strategy is influenced by the innovation power of the “focal” company and its supply network. The three implementation strategies presented in the framework are: resign, offensive and defensive. Two propositions are defined to be tested. These propositions focus on the relation between the level of innovation power and the implementation strategy concerning sustainability. Factors used to characterize the innovation power of the “focal” company are: external orientation and transparency, cooperation between departments, learning and adapting, leadership, autonomy and possibility for experimenting, and result driven. Cooperation in the supply networks is characterized by factors like trust, reputation, joint programmes, and cooperative information systems throughout the supply network.In empirical research, strategies found will be related with the level of innovation power. This level will be measured using the factors mentioned. The results might add a new innovation dimension to an improved conceptual framework within the interdisciplinary field of sustainability and supply network research.     

Reduction in ecological cost through biofuel production from cooking oils: An ecological solution for the city of Campinas, Brazil

The aim of the present study was to produce biodiesel from mixtures of cooking oil and provide a possible environmental solution for the region of Campinas (state of São Paulo, Brazil) based on the theory of environmental cost accounting (ECA). Cooking oil collected from homes in Campinas was mixed with ethanol at a ratio of 7:1 and transesterified at 60 °C for one hour for the obtainment of biodiesel using NaOH as a catalyst. The results of the physicochemical analyses demonstrated that the biodiesel possessed characteristics close to those required by Brazilian standards. A recent survey carried out in the city of Campinas revealed that residents are not concerned with the increased of environmental impact and ecological costs in the region caused by the disposal of used cooking oil, which is discarded in sewers and soil. Urgent action is recommended, beginning with raising awareness among the population and the implementation of a policy to determine the storage, periodic collection and use of cooking oil for the production of biodiesel. This fuel could be used for buses, trucks and machines or sold to fuel distributors, offering a savings of US$ 0.8 to 4.5 millions. Campinas could then gain environmental credits and become a sustainable city. Moreover, used cooking oil constitutes low-cost biodiesel with no consumption of raw materials and will reduce worldwide criticism directed at Brazil regarding the use of oleaginous plants for biodiesel production.     

Pollution perception: A challenge for intergenerational equity

In this article we extend the recent literature on overlapping generations and pollution by allowing generations to perceive the level of pollution differently than the actual level of pollution. We call this pollution perception. Pollution perception can visualize itself as either a concern for the flow of pollution only, or for the stock, or a combination of both. We derive this extension based on empirical evidence from recent advances in behavioural economics.Pollution perception has not only significant consequences for the steady state levels of pollution and capital, but we also find a qualitative change in the dynamics from similar models without pollution perception [A. John, R. Pecchenino, An overlapping generations model of growth and the environment, Econ. J. 104 (1994) 1393–1410]. Specifically, we derive optimal non-linear dynamics through complex eigenvalues and Hopf or Flip bifurcations for a large set of parameters. This leads to violations of two standard criteria of sustainability, suggesting that pollution perception can be another source of intergenerational inequity.     

Relative Assessment of Indicators in Sustainability Enhancement (RAISE): a first approach in the manufacturing stage of products

The estimation of the sustainability performance of products requires tools to provide systematic approaches to the definition of impacts, indicators and comparative scenarios from early design stages. This paper illustrates the Relative Assessment of Indicators in Sustainability Enhancement (RAISE) methodology that is based on the measure of negative impacts generated during any product life cycle stage. This approach includes a systematic process for the definition and evaluation of indicators to compare the sustainability performance of products considering each indicator individually and using a holistic index of sustainability to entail an overall comparison between products from manufacturing scenarios. The RAISE method is developed with the aim of assessing sustainability performance of product life cycle stages and incorporating this assessment into the decision-making process when comparing different manufacturing scenarios. A guitar capo manufactured in polymeric material is used as case study to demonstrate the use of the method. In this paper, only the manufacturing stage is considered; however, the method can also be employed in other stages of the life cycle.     

Integration of data analytics with cloud services for safer process systems,application examples and implementation challenges

Emerging sensors, computers, network technologies, and connected platforms result potentially in an immeasurable collection of data within plant operations. This creates the possibility of solving problems innovatively. Because most of the data appear to be unstructured or semi-structured, organizations shall design and adopt new strategies. Further, workflow architectures with data analytics are needed including machine learning tools and artificial intelligence techniques before proto-type solutions can be developed. We shall discuss several prospects of using (big) data analytics integrated with cloud services to produce solutions for improving plant operations. The paper outlines the vision and a systematic framework highlighting the data analytics lifecycle in the area of plant operation, process safety, and environmental protection. Four rather diverse example case studies are demonstrated including (1) deep learning-based predictive maintenance monitoring modeling, (2) Natural Language Processing (NLP) for mining text, (3) barrier assessment for dynamic risk mapping (DRA), and (4) correlation development for sustainability indicators. It further discusses the challenges in both research and implementation of proposed solutions in the industry. It is concluded that a well-balanced integrated approach including machine supporting decisions integrated with expert knowledge and available information from various key resources is required to enable more informed policy, strategic, and operational risk decision-making leading to safer, reliable and more efficient operations.     

Sustainability of farmers' soil fertility management practices: a case study in the North China Plain

To ensure regional self-sufficiency and adequate rural livelihoods in the North China Plain (NCP), tremendous efforts were made over the last two decades by the Chinese government to raise the productivity of crops, despite increasing pressure on the land caused by a growing population. Emphasis was placed on high external input use, especially for wheat, maize and cotton, ignoring the particularities and limitations of the natural resource base. This study assesses the sustainability of current soil fertility management practices on the basis of selected location-specific indicators, such as fertilizer use, soil pH, soil organic matter content, levels of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in the soil, and identifies determining factors of the yield and environmental impacts of inputs use. Data used for the analysis were gathered from soil tests, groundwater and chive plant tests, household surveys, and statistical yearbooks. Stepwise multiple regression analysis is applied to determine factors affecting the yields. The study revealed unbalanced use of nutrients. Organic fertilizers (manure, crop residues) and K are insufficiently applied, whereas N and P are considerably overused in comparison with recommended doses. The intensive cropping in the area using high-input technologies -particularly fertilizer- has resulted in a remarkable general enhancement of crop productivity and improvement of soil fertility over the years. The yield of wheat and maize has increased 173 and 180 kg ha(-1) annually from 1982 to 2000, respectively and soil fertility status also improved over the years and the values of the selected indicators are within the borderline for sustainability. Irrigation water, FYM application, and total labor used during the cultivation season (with the exception of cotton and chive) for production are the main factors determining the yields of four major crops under study, while popularly and overly used N did not appear to be a significant factor affecting the yield. Its overuse, however, leads to leaching of nitrate into groundwater and nitrate enrichment of vegetables. Of 20 groundwater samples, 16 showed nitrate levels between 55 and 180 mg l(-1), which exceeds recommendations for drinking water (相似文献   

How deep is the footprint? A 3D representation

Depletion of natural capital stocks and use of natural capital flows are the central issues in the sustainability debate. Differentiation of these two components, considering natural capital and its limits, is important for planning and management of land use. This paper offers insights into this issue and proposes a new perspective of the Ecological Footprint (EF) in three dimensions, considering not only its size but also its depth: according to this viewpoint the footprint is not an area but a volume, although maintaining the same value as the one in two dimensions. Use of annual flows provided by the Earth is represented by the footprint size, expressed in global hectares (gha) and plotted in the (x,y) plane. Footprint depth represents the demand for extra land to meet human needs through depletion of stocks of natural capital. It is plotted on the z-axis. It can be seen as the number of years necessary to regenerate resources liquidated in 1 year (and to absorb the respective wastes) or as the number of planets necessary to support the inhabitants of the planet Earth. The evolution of these two components in the last five decades is studied and discussed.     

Sustainable development in the mining industry: clarifying the corporate perspective

This paper examines sustainable development in the corporate mining context, and provides some guidelines for mining companies seeking to operate more sustainably. There is now a burgeoning literature that examines sustainable development in the context of minerals and mining, most of which is concerned with sustainability at global and national scales. What is often challenging to ascertain, however, from these numerous perspectives on sustainable mineral extraction, minerals and metals recycling, environmental management, and social performance, is how sustainable development applies to mining companies themselves, and what steps a mine must take in order to improve the sustainability of operations. Since mining processes have the potential to impact a diverse group of environmental entities, and are of interest to a wide range of stakeholder groups, there is ample opportunity for the industry to operate more sustainably. Specifically, with improved planning, implementation of sound environmental management tools and cleaner technologies, extended social responsibility to stakeholder groups, the formation of sustainability partnerships, and improved training, a mine can improve performance in both the environmental and socioeconomic arenas, and thus contribute enormously to sustainable development at the mine level.