Eco-Efficiency in Industry and Science

· · ·
Latest release: October 24, 2023
Series
31
Books
Product Innovation and Eco-Efficiency: Twenty-Two Industry Efforts to Reach the Factor 4
Book 1·Mar 2013
0.0
·
Prefaced by Björn Stigson, President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, this book is one of the few that treats this topic by putting representatives of industry at centre stage. The book systematically addresses the drivers, the tools, and sector-specific elements that play a role in this process. The five chapters in Part I are devoted to a general introduction to eco-efficiency and the related challenges to industry in its implementation. Part II contains 23 case studies, almost all written by industrial experts who tell how they deal with the challenge: what the motivators are, what tools can be used and how they can be implemented, and what are the specific elements in sectors like building, electronics and packaging. These contributions come from multinationals like Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Akzo Nobel, Philips and Ciba-Geigy, as well as small and medium sized enterprises from such sectors as the building and furniture trades.
Adoption of Environmental Innovations: The Dynamics of Innovation as Interplay between Business Competence, Environmental Orientation and Network Involvement
Book 2·Dec 2012
0.0
·
How do small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) adopt environmental innovations? Do they have the necessary internal competence? Is any support offered by external parties (i.e. network involvement)? What are the policy implications? This book is based on extensive fieldwork, conducted in four traditional industrial sectors: offset printing, electroplating, textile finishing, and industrial painting. The work was carried out in Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK. Twenty company-based case studies were analyzed and a telephone survey was conducted among 527 companies. As a result, the Innovation Triangle came to be formulated, which is presented here, defining and combining the determinants of SME innovativeness. The Innovation Triangle distinguishes three major determinants of innovativeness: business competence, environmental orientation, and network involvement. The Innovation Triangle allows one to diagnose current environmental and innovation policies, indicating which policy measures might be effective in increasing the adoption of environmentally friendly technologies, allowing environmental objectives to be achieved.
Eco-Management Accounting: Based upon the ECOMAC research projects sponsored by the EU’s Environment and Climate Programme (DG XII, Human Dimension of Environmental Change)
Book 3·Mar 2013
0.0
·
The ECOMAC project (Eco-management Accounting as a Tool of Environmental Man agement) has provided a framework for linking environmental management with man agement accounting. It was funded in Theme 4, 'Human Dimensions of Environmental Change' in the EU Environment and Climate Research Programme. The project is of high policy relevance by contributing to the on-going debate on eco management accounting, reporting and indicators. It is also an area needing further re search. I would like to thank the research team, companies that participated as associated con tractors, and the advisory panel. Jonathan Parker DG XII/D-5, European Commission Theme on Human Dimensions of Environmental Change 7 Preface The ECOMAC project This document is the final report on the project 'Eco-management accounting as a tool of environmental managemenf (ECOMAC). This research project was conducted under the Environment and Climate Programme (Human Dimension of Environmental Change) of the European Commission (DG XII). The ECOMAC project investigated how companies are using or intend to use environ mental costs and benefits figures in support of their decisions, and what they have been doing to remedy the limitations of conventional management accounting in this area. The research was largely explorative in nature, but the project also produced a structured overview of the subject and made suggestions and recommendations as to how compa nies could improve their own environmental accounting.
Economic Models of Material-Product Chains for Environmental Policy Analysis
Book 4·Nov 2013
0.0
·
A theoretical and empirical contribution to the quest for sustainability and environmental quality. The book examines the physical and economic aspects of flows of materials and products, as well as the policies and strategies designed to reduce the related resource depletion and environmental pollution. The `material-product chain' concept forms a general framework, defined as a system of linked flows of materials and products that support the provision of a certain service. Various economic models of material-product chains are studied, both theoretical and applied, such as static optimisation, dynamic simulation and general equilibrium models. Applications to metals, rain gutters and window frames are described.
Audience: Readers in universities, research organizations and policy institutes interested in the environment, economics and government policy.
Potential for Industrial Energy-Efficiency Improvement in the Long Term
Book 5·Jun 2013
0.0
·
This book does not give a prediction of what the efficiency will be of the energy use of industrial processes in the future. However, it does give an exploration of limits to the efficiency of current processes and an indication of what might be achieved if new technologies can be developed. At the Department of Science, Technology and Society of Utrecht University research had been done to the opportunities for improvement of the energy efficiency in the short term since the 1980's. This had resulted in a comprehensive database on energy efficient measures. This database and a possible application are described in Chapter 3 of this book. The use of the database induced new research themes around efficiency improvement, e.g. concerning barriers for implementation of measures. It was around 1993 that I did a preliminary study to the potential for efficiency improvement in the long term. Historical analysis had shown us that the short term potential stayed constant over the years. It seemed to be replenished by the introduction of new technologies. This lead to the question whether there are limits to the efficiency, taking into account both thermodynamic considerations and ideas on the development and dissemination of new technologies.
Ahead of the Curve: Cases of Innovation in Environmental Management
Book 6·Dec 2012
0.0
·
The debate on sustainable production often ends in discussions on the feasibility of far-reaching changes in relation to the competitiveness of companies. Industry itself and policy-makers tend to back away from engaging in profound processes of industrial transformation. Examples of companies who have voluntarily moved beyond what is seen as 'reasonable' and 'feasible' can overcome this deadlock. This book collects a fine sample of companies who have taken up their responsibility in this respect. To quote the editors of this book: "They are cases that might provide other firms and policy-makers with ideas for innovative environmental responses that are outside the slowly rising trend of improvement that we are currently observing: in short, the cases are of firms and ideas that are ahead of the curve". The editors and many of the authors of this volume are members of the Greening of Industry Network and have been debating with one another for years. Founded in 1991, the Greening of Industry Network comprises over 1500 individuals representing academia, business, public interest, labor and government from more than 50 countries. Participants work together to build policies and strategies toward creating a sustainable future through many vehicles -- coordinating research efforts, publications, planning and participating in workshops, public forums and conferences. To provide benefit to broader society, the Network stimulates public dialogue and brings together academic researchers from many disciplines with other stakeholders who traditionally do not work together in coalitions.
Handbook on Life Cycle Assessment: Operational Guide to the ISO Standards
Book 7·Apr 2006
0.0
·
Environmental policy aims at the transition to sustainable production and consumption. This is taking place in different ways and at different levels. In cases where businesses are continuously active to improve the environmental performance of their products and activities, the availability of knowledge on environmental impacts is indispensable. The integrated assessment of all environmental impacts from cradle to grave is the basis for many decisions relating to achieving improved products and services. The assessment tool most widely used for this is the environmental Life Cycle Assessment, or LCA. Before you is the new Handbook of LCA replacing the previous edition of 1992. New developments in LCA methodology from all over the world have been discussed and, where possible, included in this new Handbook. Integration of all developments into a new, consistent method has been the main aim for the new Handbook. The thinking on environment and sustainability is, however, quickly evolving so that it is already clear now that this new LCA Handbook does not embrace the very latest developments. Therefore, further revisions will have to take place in the future. A major advantage of this Handbook is that it now also advises which procedures should be followed to achieve adequate, relevant and accepted results. Furthermore, the distinction between detailed and simplified LCA makes this Handbook more broadly applicable, while guidance is provided as to which additional information can be relevant for specialised applications.
Partnership and Leadership: Building Alliances for a Sustainable Future
Book 8·Oct 2013
0.0
·
Sustainable development has become a central perspective in environmental strategies around the world. It is clear that neither governments nor businesses have the capability to bring about sustainability on their own. Therefore, collaboration has emerged as a central concept. At the same time it is obvious that someone has to take the lead in the development towards sustainability. This book focuses on different forms of collaboration emerging between various actors. The objective of the book is to more systematically explore the different roles and relationships between partnership and leadership.

Basically, both partnership and leadership can be seen in a positive and negative way: for example, as far as partnership is concerned, we can assume that the path towards sustainability can be paved by parties coming together, taking some initiative collaborating. On the opposite, partnership and consensus-based decisions can be seen as an obstacle to foster radical changes in production and consumption patterns. Similarly, leadership can be seen as an obstacle to sustainable development if leaders form close circles and are not willing to share experiences with other actors; but leadership could also be considered as an important element to keep concepts and practices forward. The book holds this double perspective: explaining, mapping and analyzing different goals/formats/methods of more and less collaborative approaches, but at the same time taking a critical approach to the theme by understanding related risks, effects, prospects and corrective actions.

Next to a conceptual part, the book brings together case-studies from around the world. The focus is in describing and understanding various formats of collaboration and critically evaluating its effects and prospects. A concluding chapter discusses the role of partnership and leadership in realizing various levels of environmental innovations: optimization and re-design, that usually affect only a small part of the production/consumption structure, and much more complicated, radical innovations that have to deal with societal (sub)systems.

The book is in part an edited version of selected papers presented during the 1998 Greening of Industry Conference in Rome on the subject, enriched with contributions of other invited authors.

Environmental Management Accounting: Informational and Institutional Developments
Book 9·Dec 2005
0.0
·
Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) is increasingly recognised as a distinguished tool of environmental management. It helps to integrate a company's environmental and business interests, whereby enhancing corporate eco-efficiency in terms of reducing environmental costs or making one's product more competitive.

This book gives a comprehensive coverage of the state of the art. It presents a number of EMA frameworks that companies can take as a basis for implementing their own specific EMA structures. Besides discussing environmental accounting issues within conventional management accounting, it gives a detailed picture of materials flow (cost) accounting as an alternative way of looking at the ecology-economy relationships at the corporate level. A fascinating case study shows how a large company (Siemens) applies materials flow accounting and what benefits it entails.

Applying EMA in an effective way may require the use of information systems. The book discusses the pros and cons of different strategies in this area: one may opt for a total integrated solution, partially integrated solutions or for a stand-alone system.
Governments may have good reasons to promote the application of EMA. The use of economic instruments to internalise environmental externalities (norms, ecotaxes and tradable permits) can be much more effective if the incentives they produce are not frustrated by a lack of adequate cost accounting. EMA can be of great importance here. The book discusses a number of these issues, gives information on how international and national organisations (such as in Japan) have taken steps to promote the adoption of EMA by the business community.

A final section presents a number of different topics such as how environmental costs can be of help in defining environmental management strategies, how to take environmental performance indicators a step further by developing sustainability indicators for product chains. A final chapter explores a possible theoretical foundation for research on why, how and to what extent companies adopt EMA. Such research may help to turn available insights as to what EMA should be into effective EMA strategies.
The book has been developed under the auspices of the Environmental Management Accounting Network (EMAN-EU). The chapters derive from a selection of papers presented at different EMAN meetings. The authors comprise a truly international group of EMA experts, among whom are the most prominent ones in the field.

Analytical Tools for Environmental Design and Management in a Systems Perspective: The Combined Use of Analytical Tools
Book 10·Dec 2012
0.0
·
The aim of this book is to link demand and supply of environmental information in the field of Life Cycle Management. The book is based on the results of the CHAINET concerted action financed by EU-DGXII for the work period 1998-2000, and is intended to build bridges between the different scientific communities in the field of Life Cycle Management. A structured approach is followed, meaning that both demand and supply of environmental information are characterised, after which the two are linked.
Chapter 2 deals with the demand side; a number of characteristics are identified including the object of analysis, different question types, consecutive decision steps, and the cultural context of the decision at hand. Chapter 3 gives an overview of the supply side, distinguishing between concepts, analytical tools, procedural tools, technical elements, and data. The focus of the book is on analytical tools. In Chapter 4 and in a 34-page annex, eleven analytical tools are systematically described, including LCA, MIPS, ERA, MFA, SFA, CERA, IOA, analytical tools for ecodesign, LCC, TCA, and CBA.
In Chapter 5, demand and supply are linked, starting from the question types and indicating which types of tools are particularly suited for which type of question. For instance, it is shown that LCA is particularly useful for operational questions, but less so for more strategic questions. Other aspects concern the distinction between a broad overview and a detailed analysis, and, interestingly, the cultural context of the decision. It appears that without agreement on the criteria to be used, quantitative analytical tools such as LCA, ERA, or CBA may not be very helpful as support for decision-making. Rather more robust quantitative, or even qualitative, tools may then be used instead.
Chapter 6 makes a number of concluding remarks. A plea is made for the combined use of tools, rather than the development of a super tool. Another important topic concerns the customisation of tools, which is seen as quite useful if combined with a periodic validation against a more detailed analysis.
In the text of the preceding chapters, 26 text boxes are included as practical illustrations of the principles described in the text. In the following chapters, three cases are presented, dealing with electronic goods, the car, and clothes washing. These cases show how, in practice, different tools are used in combination, as a support for a given decision situation.
The book is particularly suited for courses in higher education, both for universities and polytechnics, and for use by consultancy firms, by larger companies, and industrial branch organisations.
The Computational Structure of Life Cycle Assessment
Book 11·Apr 2013
0.0
·
Life Cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool for environmental decision-support in relation to products from the cradle to the grave. Until now, more emphasis has been put on the inclusion quantitative models and databases and on the design of guidebooks for applying LCA than on the integrative aspect of combining these models and data. This is a remarkable thing, since LCA in practice deals with thousands of quantitative data items that have to be combined in the correct manner. For this, one needs mathematical rules and algorithmic principles for carrying out an LCA.
This book presents the first coherent treatment of the mathematical and algorithmic aspects of LCA. These computational aspects are presented in matrix form, so that a concise and elegant formulation is achieved. This form, moreover, provides a platform for further extension of analysis using perturbation theory, structural theory and economic input-output analysis.
Environmental Management Accounting — Purpose and Progress
Book 12·Dec 2012
0.0
·
This is the second book of selected papers on environmental management accounting (EMA) which has been developed for Kluwer by the Environmental Management Accounting Network - Europe (EMAN-Eu), drawn primarily from papers presented at EMAN-Eu, to bring together several examples of leading thinking and practice internationally in this rapidly developing area. The authors include academics, practitioners from industry, and government policy-makers, and the subjects covered range from individual company experiences to the role of government in promoting EMA in industry. The papers included in the book provide several examples of how EMA can be applied in practice both in large corporations and in small and medium-sized enterprises, and of reports on the extent of the implementation of EMA and the conditions which encourage this. The book is intended for all those interested in EMA as either researchers or practitioners. It will also be of interest both to those interested in how well-established management accounting methods can be adapted and extended in order to meet new demands on companies, and also to environmental managers interested in learning how accounting techniques can be of value in achieving environmental management objectives.
The Life Cycle of Copper, Its Co-Products and Byproducts
Book 13·Mar 2013
0.0
·
Achieving the goals and objectives of sustainable development requires better information about the consequences of proposed actions. Partial information accounts for many failed efforts in the past. The financial implications for the proponent of the projects have often been more thoroughly analyzed than the implications for other actors. The impacts on biological diversity, or on the social fabric of local communities, have often been ignored. Decisi- makers may also focus more on the short-term consequences instead of long- term impacts, creating negative unintended consequences. It is clear that better decision-making processes are needed. Making better decisions requires identifying, obtaining, synthesizing and acting on larger and more diverse data sets, including information that has previously been overlooked in development decisions. The good news is that better processes are being developed and are becoming available. If the goal is to reach decisions that are broadly understood and accepted, affected communities need to be consulted. Early public participation in defining problems is a prerequisite to effective decision-making. There is no universal formula or checklist of information applicable to every proposed project. The scope of information required should not be determined from the start by small cadres of experts. It is unlikely that any individual or small group processes all of the expertise to achieve the kind of profound int- disciplinary synthesis that is needed.
Computers and the Environment: Understanding and Managing their Impacts
Book 14·Dec 2012
0.0
·
Personal computers have made life convenient in many ways, but what about their impacts on the environment due to production, use and disposal? Manufacturing computers requires prodigious quantities of fossil fuels, toxic chemicals and water. Rapid improvements in performance mean we often buy a new machine every 1-3 years, which adds up to mountains of waste computers. How should societies respond to manage these environmental impacts?
This volume addresses the environmental impacts and management of computers through a set of analyses on issues ranging from environmental assessment, technologies for recycling, consumer behaviour, strategies of computer manufacturing firms, and government policies. One conclusion is that extending the lifespan of computers (e.g. through reselling) is an environmentally and economically effective strategy that deserves more attention from governments, firms and the general public.
The Effectiveness of Policy Instruments for Energy-Efficiency Improvement in Firms: The Dutch Experience
Book 15·Mar 2004
0.0
·
Improvement of energy efficiency is one of the important options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, hundreds of technologies for improving the end-use energy efficiency make up more than half of the global potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction in the short and medium term (2010 -2020). (IPCC, 2001; see also WEA, 2000). An important next question is how these options can actually be deployed. More specifically, one may ask what role governments can play by using policy instruments to promote the deployment of energy efficient technologies. In this introductory Chapter, we will first set out the aim of the research described in this book. Then we will discuss the various policy instruments that may playa role in energy-efficiency improvement. Next the various aspects important for characterising policy instruments will be discussed and the various disciplinary approaches are listed. Finally, the outline of the complete book will be given.
The European Union's Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)
Book 16·Jul 2005
0.0
·
This text definitively breaks down each component of the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme regulation (EMAS) – even its appendices and EU guidance documents - providing a step-by-step analysis of the Scheme. In addition, the work offers case examples of three of Akzo Nobel manufacturing locations which have been registered to EMAS, providing real-world advice on how to meet the requirements of the Scheme.
Ambiguities in Decision-oriented Life Cycle Inventories: The Role of Mental Models and Values
Book 17·Mar 2006
0.0
·
In an environmental life cycle assessment of products (LCA), an unambiguous, scientifically based, ‘objective’ attribution of material and energy flows to a product is pure fiction. This is due to the fundamental epistemological conditions of LCA as a modelling process under the complexity of our socio-economic system. Instead, various mental models and values guide this attribution. This leads to a functional model in a specific decision situation.

This book shows for the first time how mental models and values influence this attribution in the life cycle inventory step of LCA. One of the key findings is that the different management rules for a sustainable use of materials must be taken into account for the attribution of material and energy flows to a product. Otherwise, improvement options recommended by an LCA might turn out to even worsen the environmental situation if reassessed from a meta-perspective.

As a consequence of this book, the claim of unambiguitiy (‘objectivity’) of the life cycle inventory must be abandoned. A group-model building process for LCA is developed that allows one to grasp the decision makers' mental models and values in the inventory analysis on a case- and situation-specific basis. Only by this, LCA results will become relevant in a decision-making process.

Two case studies on the modelling of recycling and other end-of-life options of aluminium windows and beech wood railway sleepers in LCA complement the methodological part.

This book is a ‘must have’ for researchers, consultants and practitioners in the fields of decision-oriented life cycle assessment as well as product-related environmental management, modelling and decision-making.

Implementing Environmental Management Accounting: Status and Challenges
Book 18·Nov 2005
4.3
·
This is the third volume in the Environmental Management Accounting Network (EMAN) series of selected refereed papers on environmental management accounting drawn primarily from papers presented at EMAN-Europe's annual c- ferences. Most of the papers in this volume were ?rst presented at the 6th EMAN- Europe Annual Conference at the Aarhus School of Business, Denmark, on 23-24 January 2003. The focus of the conference and the papers presented was on implementation of Environmental Management Accounting. That is to say what challenges there are in getting EMAto work in companies, how governments are promoting EMAand how EMA can be supported by for instance IT. From the papers in this volume it can be seen that EMAis becoming more established as a ?eld of practice as well as an a- demic endeavour. EMA is no longer the sole interest of large multinational c- panies but is being adopted by SMEs as well as being promoted by various gove- ment agencies. EMAN has continued to play an important role in this development by providing a medium through which those interested can contact others with similar interests, and by organising regular events for the dissemination and exchange of news and ideas. EMAN aims to provide a forum in which academics and practitioners can meet to exchange and share ideas and experiences, and this has guided the selection of these papers which include both academic papers grounded in the relevant literature and with reference to theory as appropriate.
Sustainable Metals Management: Securing Our Future - Steps Towards a Closed Loop Economy
Book 19·Jan 2007
0.0
·
What’s in a name? What, in particular, is metals management’ all about? I suspect that my ‘ colleagues assumed that I would have a good answer, given that the endowed Sandoz Chair I occupied from 1992 until my retirement in 2000 was entitled “Environment and Management”, and at INSEAD I created a Center for Management of Environmental Resources (CMER). Metals are a subset of resources, et voila! However, in all honesty, management, as such, was never my core competence (to use another phrase popularized by business schools). Here comes the shocking secret. We used the word management in those titles because INSEAD is a business school where everything has to have an application to business. For my colleagues at INSEAD management is what we supposedly teach. Good management, they (we) think, distinguishes successful enterprises from unsuccessful ones. For some of our graduates, management is what they give professional advice to corporate clients about. For the rest of our graduates it is the umbrella word that describes their choice of career. The implication conveyed by our choice of words is that metals can be regarded as one category of environmental resources, and that resources – including environmental resources – can be managed, in somewhat the same way that a corporation can be managed. It is not even too far-fetched to suggest that long run sustainability might be a management problem.
User Behavior and Technology Development: Shaping Sustainable Relations Between Consumers and Technologies
Book 20·Oct 2006
0.0
·
Environmental policy has long been determined by a dichotomy between technology and behavior. Some approaches stress the importance of technology and technological innovation, while others focus on behavioral change. Each approach has its limitations, however, since technology and behavior often appear so closely intertwined. Human behavior results not only from intentions and deliberate decisions, but from its interaction with technological artifacts. In the area of traffic safety, for instance, people’s driving behavior is determined as much by curves, speed bumps and the power of their motors as by considerations of safety and responsibility. How can we best describe and understand these interactions between behavior and technology? What conceptual frameworks and empirical studies are available, and how can they be integrated? And how can we bring these interactions to bear on product design and policy making?

User Behavior and Technology Development explores the relationships between technology and behavior from an interdisciplinary perspective. It includes contributions from cognitive psychology, industrial design, public administration, marketing, sociology, ergonomics, science and technology studies, and philosophy. The book aims to create a conceptual basis for analyzing interactions between technology and behavior, and to provide insights that are relevant to technology design and environmental policy.

Bundles

Handbook of Input-Output Economics in Industrial Ecology
Sangwon Suh
Business & investing
$111.65$97.14