Download or read book Computers and the Environment Understanding and Managing their Impacts written by R. Kuehr and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Eco efficiency in Industry and Science written by and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Computational Structure of Life Cycle Assessment written by R. Heijungs and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-04-17 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Product Innovation and Eco Efficiency written by Judith E.M. Klostermann and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-09 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Environmental Management Accounting Informational and Institutional Developments written by M.D. Bennett and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2002-07-31 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Giving a comprehensive coverage of the state of the art, this text presents a number of EMA frameworks that companies can take as a basis for implementing their own specific EMA structures.

Download or read book Improving Energy Efficiency in Industrial Energy Systems written by Patrik Thollander and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-08-10 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Industrial energy efficiency is one of the most important means of reducing the threat of increased global warming. Research however states that despite the existence of numerous technical energy efficiency measures, its deployment is hindered by the existence of various barriers to energy efficiency. The complexity of increasing energy efficiency in manufacturing industry calls for an interdisciplinary approach to the issue. Improving energy efficiency in industrial energy systems applies an interdisciplinary perspective in examining energy efficiency in industrial energy systems, and discusses how “cross-pollinating” perspectives and theories from the social and engineering sciences can enhance our understanding of barriers, energy audits, energy management, policies, and programmes as they pertain to improved energy efficiency in industry. Apart from classical technical approaches from engineering sciences, Improving energy efficiency in industrial energy systems couples a sociotechnical perspective to increased energy efficiency in industry, showing that industrial energy efficiency can be expected to be shaped by social and commercial processes and built on knowledge, routines, institutions, and methods established in networks. The book can be read by researchers and policy-makers, as well as scholars and practicians in the field. “This book is extremely valuable for anyone who is designing or executing energy efficiency policies, schemes or projects aiming at SMEs. Both authors deserve the highest respect, and the combination of their expertise makes the results truly unique.” - Daniel Lundqvist, programme manager at the Swedish energy agency “For anyone interested in improving energy efficiency in industry, this is a must-read. The book combines tools from social science and engineering to discuss the state of art today as well as possible development path tomorrow. This is a compelling book that I find useful both in my teaching and my research.” - Kajsa Ellegård, Professor at Linköping University, Sweden "The book Improving energy efficiency in industrial energy systems is a novel approach on how improved levels of energy efficiency can be reached in industrial energy systems by merging engineering with social sciences. It is with delight that I can recommend their book to anyone interested in the field.”- Mats Söderström, Director Energy Systems Programme, Linköping University, Sweden

Download or read book Eco efficiency written by Livio D. DeSimone and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book outlines the principles of eco-efficiency and presents case studies of their application from a number of international companies, including 3M and the Dow Chemical Company. The term "eco-efficiency" describes business activities that create economic value while reducing ecological impact and resource use. This book outlines the principles of eco-efficiency and presents case studies of their application from a number of international companies, including 3M and the Dow Chemical Company. It also discusses the value of partnerships--with other companies, business associations, communities, regulators, and environmental and other nongovernmental groups. In the conclusion, the authors argue that business must become more eco-efficient and that governments need to change the conditions under which business operates, including tax and regulatory regimes, to make them more conducive to eco-efficiency.

Download or read book Handbook of Input Output Economics in Industrial Ecology written by Sangwon Suh and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-05-13 with total page 885 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Industrial Ecology (IE) is an emerging multidisciplinary field. University departments and higher education programs are being formed on the subject following the lead of Yale University, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Leiden University, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Carnegie Mellon University, University of California at Berkeley, Institute for Superior Technology in Lisbon, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, and The University of Tokyo. IE deals with stocks and flows in interconnected networks of industry and the environment, which relies on a basic framework for analysis. Among others, Input-Output Analysis (IOA) is recognized as a key conceptual and analytical framework for IE. A major challenge is that the field of IOA manifests a long history since the 1930s with two Nobel Prize Laureates in the field and requires considerable analytical rigor. This led many instructors and researchers to call for a high-quality publication on the subject which embraces both state-of-the-art theory and principles as well as practical applications.

Download or read book Environmental Management Accounting and Supply Chain Management written by Roger L. Burritt and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-05-19 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume’s focus on the environmental accounting of supply chain processes is of particular relevance because these processes supply data about the environmental impact of relationships between business organisations, an area where the boundary separating internal and external accounting is ill-defined. Here, contributors advocate what they term ‘accounting for cooperation’ as a more environmentally positive complement to the paradigmatic practice of ‘accounting for competition’.

Download or read book Eco efficiency written by Markus Lehni and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Potential for Industrial Energy Efficiency Improvement in the Long Term written by J. de Beer and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-29 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Implementing Environmental Management Accounting Status and Challenges written by Pall M. Rikhardsson and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005-07-28 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings together examples of leading thinking and international practice in the rapidly developing area of environmental management accounting .(EMA) The authors include academics and practitioners from industry and the subjects covered range from individual company experiences with implementing EMA to national experiences regarding the adoption and diffusion of EMA practices.

Download or read book Sustainability Accounting and Reporting written by Stefan Schaltegger and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-09-14 with total page 704 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the fourth in a series publishing the best contributions on environmental management accounting (EMA) from around the world. This volume brings together international examples of leading thinking and practice in this rapidly developing area. This is the most comprehensive volume to date covering theory, practice and case studies on sustainability accounting and reporting. It covers tools, frameworks, concepts as well as case studies and empirical analysis.

Download or read book Quantified Eco Efficiency written by Gjalt Huppes and published by Springer. This book was released on 2010-11-20 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A central asset of eco-efficiency analysis is that it does not depend on a specific evaluation of environmental impacts against economic effects. Several evaluation methods may be used, including those based on willingness-to-pay, panel procedures, and public statements on policy goals. This volume covers all aspects of eco-efficiency analysis and offers a global perspective on the subject.

Download or read book Waste Input Output Analysis written by Shinichiro Nakamura and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-02-08 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Industrial ecology (IE) is a rapidly growing scienti?c discipline that is concerned with the sustainability of industrial systems under explicit consideration of its int- dependence with natural systems. In recent years, there has been an ever-increasing awareness about the applicability of Input-Output Analysis (IOA) to IE, in particular to LCA (life cycle assessment) and MFA (material ?ow analysis). This is witnessed in the growing number of papers at ISIE (International Society for Industrial Ec- ogy) conferences, which use IOA, and also by the installment of subject editors on IOA in the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. It can be said that IE has become a major ?eld of application for IOA. The broadening of users of IOA from various backgrounds implies a need for a self-contained textbook on IOA that can meet the needs of students and practitioners without compromising on basic c- cepts and the latest developments. This book was written with the aim of ?lling this need, and is primarily addressed to students and practitioners of IE. As the title suggests, the core contents of the book have grown out of our research in IOA of waste management issues over the last decade. We have been fascinated by the versatile nature of IOA with regard to various technical issues of waste m- agement in particular, and to IE in general. For us (both economists by training), IOA has turned out to be extremely useful in establishing productive communi- tion with scientists and engineers interested in IE.

Download or read book Sustainable Metals Management written by Arnim von Gleich and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-01-16 with total page 610 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Metals have been vital to human civilization for many thousands of years. Their durability and recyclability should make them ideal materials for a sustainable economy. This book assembles experts from many fields to discuss the conditions and limits of sustainable metals management. The contributors examine the theoretical ideas and goals of sustainability, and apply them across the metal making and trading process.

Download or read book Environmental Management Accounting for Cleaner Production written by Stefan Schaltegger and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-10-10 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sustainability requires companies to develop in an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable manner. Corporate sustainable development in turn requires movement towards cleaner production. In order to recognize the potential from cleaner production – reduced costs and fewer environmental impacts through the reduced use of materials – environmental management accounting (EMA) is a necessary information management tool. Environmental Management Accounting for Cleaner Production reveals a set of tools for companies to collect, evaluate and interpret the information they need to estimate their potential to use cleaner production to realize cost savings and to make the best decisions about the available cleaner production options. EMA is therefore the key for driving environmental progress, cost savings, increased competitiveness and corporate sustainability through the means of cleaner production.