Sustainability issues

Thermodynamic principles can be used to assess, design and improve energy and other systems, and to better understand environmental impact and sustainability issues. For the broadest understanding, all thermodynamic principles must be used, not just those pertaining to energy. Thus, many researchers feel that an understanding and appreciation of exergy is essential to discussions of sustainable development. 

Reardon T (1995) Sustainability issues for agricultural research strategies in the semi-arid tropics focus on the Sahel. Agric Sys 48 345-359... 

Global sustainability issues—National Academy of Sciences ... 

Connecting green chemistry and engineering to major sustainability issues ... 

Unlike the majority of bulk chemicals, most pharmaceuticals are very complex organic molecules that have to be constructed using multiple synthetic steps, often involving the isolation and purification of intermediate products. As a consequence, process efficiency has historically been very low [28]. In recent years, driven by both cost and sustainability issues, the research pharmaceutical companies have become industry leaders in the introduction of Green Chemistry and technology techniques into their process design. The implementation of environmental legislation such as this directive provides a further stimulus. 

In the discussion about how we should set up our chemical process industry in the near future, the sustainability issue is of prime importance. Sustainability in the ecological sense means that we do not place an intolerable load on the ecosphere and that we maintain the natural basis for life. The complexity of the chemical industry with its numerous products has made us lose sight of the associated ecological impact of these products life cycles When you produce something, you also produce long-term effects. In economics, this concept is known as joint production [17], and we will discuss this in Section 13.6. 

Common sense s misperception about this fact leads often to argue from a position of belief rather than a position of knowledge, when it comes to discuss sustainability issues. 

Regrettably, a global consciousness and an awareness of sustainability issues are not reliably pursued by tourists in many contexts. As a consequence of the impacts of tourist behaviour briefly reviewed at the start of this chapter, governments and public management agencies have instituted a set of control and influence mechanisms to shape negative tourist behaviours that alter on-site experiences for all participants. Five such mechanisms can be identified. 

None of the analysed standards requires the adoption of any of the unconventional salinity control methods that are emerging from recent research, such as phase farming, Oil Mallee plantations, and other agroforestry practices. While NASAA explicitly accepts and encourages contributions from science to overcome sustainability issues, there is no indication that the other organizations are on the lookout for innovative strategies. 

In the excellent previous Rapra Review Report on this subject (464) the authors mentioned briefly the environmental assaults on polyvinyl chloride (known as PVC or vinyl), but correctly considered them to be outside the scope of that technical review. However, events have moved on considerably in the discussions on sustainability issues and this author believes that no review would be complete without including the substantial efforts made by the PVC industry in this area. 

This section will focus on the environmental debate around PVC. Recycling and sustainability issues will be reviewed in Section 7. 

PVC recycling and sustainability issues, i.e., the Voluntary Commitment (275) are covered in Section 7. 

The largest European resin supplier is also taking account of sustainability issues, focusing on the environmental, economic and social legs (www.evc-int.com). 

To corroborate and explore the importance of the drivers commonly cited in the literature, in 2004, BRIDGES to Sustainability (BRIDGES), in collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC (PwC), developed a survey addressing the chemical industry s view of sustainability and its response to sustainability issues. BRIDGES,... 

In the Framework, the lenses represent variables that affect the way in which the sustainability issues are further characterized and the boundary conditions that are set. Depending on the enterprise, there may be more lenses than shown in... 

Figure 4.1, but these are the most common ones in considering sustainability issues, and they include ... 

A place dimension. At what scale are the considerations being addressed local, national, global Where in the world are we considering sustainability issues and what is the socioeconomic, political, and physical context What part of the whole system are we considering the process, facility, corporation, value chain How do the elements of the system roll up ... 

In order to understand security in a sustainability context, it is necessary to treat security the way you treat any other sustainability issue - by evaluating security from cradle-to-cradle. It is important to consider ... 

One-third had a senior-level committee for sustainability issues/promotion. 

The mainstream investment community has made little explicit reference to sustainability issues. Despite this fact, the topic is not really new. There are plenty of examples of investors thinking about the business implications of environmental and social issues in the chemical industry. 

Empirical research is one of the ways to understand how investors view how the companies have value at stake on sustainability issues. Here, I will briefly discuss two types of research that are directly applicable to the chemical industry.26... 

The fact that ratings of corporate sustainability performance exist and are marketed to investors has been one of the most public manifestations of action where sustainability issues meet capital markets. Obviously, there is an appetite for this research and for investment products that are based on it. Approximately three billion euros are invested based on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.33... 

From an analysis of the published financial research on the chemical industry, the sustainability issues of concern in the mainstream investment world revolve first around exposure to hot-button issues such as asbestos and genetic modification. There are some indications that this concern may extend to issues that have not yet fully blossomed, such as endocrine disruptors. There is also lingering concern about the potential for European Union rules that, if adopted, would essentially shift the burden of proof from showing that a chemical caused harm to having to demonstrate the safety of a number of chemicals in current use. Among those analyzing the sustainability of the chemical industry, the primary task appears to be to evaluate the companies ability to deal with complex issues of safety, emission reductions, community relations, and so on. 

Looking around the corner, there are a number of sustainability issues that could be financially material in the chemical sector. The research on body burden, or what trace (and otherwise) substances exist in humans as a result of environmental exposure is perhaps the most troubling in that little is known about how this occurs, especially among populations that are not in proximity to known sources. Look for the level of concern on this issue to rise and for potential societal and policy push-back fuelled by the uncertainty. Body burden could serve as a gateway issue to a wide range of actions by civil society on a whole host of specific substances and pathways of exposure. In particular, results that pertain to body burden in children have a huge emotional resonance beyond the scope of most issues of pollution. ... 

The climate change actions led by some large public pension funds and state treasuries in the United States could well be the beginning of a sea change. If their actions are successful financially, this approach could expand to a much larger universe of investors across a more expansive range of sustainability issues. 

And so I asked Marianne Lines, my dear friend and colleague, to become coeditor. Marianne s exceptional organizational skills and sense of enjoyment from details, well-honed experience in pulling together expert stakeholders, and fundamental knowledge of sustainability issues were my primary reasons for inviting her to participate, and she has surpassed all of my expectations. 

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