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Effective environmental management within companies, integrated with other management areas like quality and occupational health and safety, is nowadays assumed to be a strategic way to implement and improve lean and cleaner production. Also, sustainable development (SD) and business sustainability can be achieved through a better coordinated management of processes versus associated resources. This paper presents an in depth discussion regarding the promotion of integrated management systems, their benefits and major contribution towards the sustainable development of cleaner production related features. It addresses issues regarding the contributions resulting from the integration of standardized Management System (MS) from both internal and external perspectives. Complementing the overall review of aspects to the development of integrated management systems a survey was conducted in order to better understand the relevance of the identified success factors. The main findings in this paper are as follows: a contextualization model of sustainable development and integrated management systems considering the Triple Bottom Line: economic, social and environmental; and, a method and associated model to support the development of integrated management systems as well as general guidelines to support integration. It can be concluded that a proactive approach and commitment to cleaner production, supported by an integrated management system, brings relevant savings for organizations as well as providing value to the relevant interested parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: When performing life cycle assessment (LCA) assumptions regarding the energy use are often decisive for the outcome. In this paper, current approaches of identifying marginal electricity and heat technologies for consequential LCAs are challenged. The identification of marginal energy technologies is examined from three angles: The marginal electricity technology is identified in Danish historical and potential future energy systems. The methods of identifying and using marginal electricity and heat technologies in key LCA studies are analysed. Finally, the differences in applying energy system analysis and assuming one marginal technology are illustrated, using waste incineration with energy substitution as a case. The main problem with the current approach is the use of one single marginal technology. It is recommended to use fundamentally different affected technologies and identify these in several possible and fundamentally different future scenarios. If possible, the affected technologies should also be identified based on energy system analyses considering the technical characteristics of the technologies involved. Some results in this paper may be applicable to other affected technologies than energy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The study presented in this paper uses a mathematical model to measure the degree in which a product will be perceived as environmentally friendly from its physical attributes. A model based on genetic algorithms and neural networks was developed to predict the judgement of the users about environmental friendliness of different tables. Opinions of real users about a large set of tables were used to train the model. The results of the study suggest that, using this procedure in advanced stages of product design process, designers can determine the set of product's physical attributes that best convey the idea of “environmentally sustainable” to the customer. The analysis of the obtained model allows establishing how different product's attributes influence users' perception. From these results, the utilization of users' affective response models to design the appearance of environmentally sustainable products is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable procurement is the process of meeting the needs of an organisation with the most beneficial monetary value, while mitigating the diverse effects of its operations on society and environment. There are studies which adopt environmental criteria to procurement decisions, whereas, works integrating the three dimensions and discussing the trade-offs between them are scarce. In this paper, the three dimensions of corporate sustainability; environmental–economical–social, are integrated into supplier selection and demand allocation decisions. With their integrated approach, the proposed mathematical models aim to contribute to the relevant literature by analysing different sustainable procurement strategies. Initially a questionnaire is introduced for measuring the sustainability scores of a company's potential suppliers, and these scores are then used as an input to the models. The developed mixed-integer linear programming models distribute demand to the most sustainable firms in the supplier pool of the company, while ensuring minimum procurement cost for the identified strategy. The questionnaire and models are implemented in three companies to interpret the outcomes of different sustainability strategies on the procurement decisions. Selection of the most appropriate strategy is a managerial decision influenced by the varying dynamics of the company and the market conditions. These models demonstrate an easy and practical approach in assisting sustainable procurement. Results are promising in displaying the trade-offs between the sustainability dimensions of different strategies with alternating procurement costs, and can aid the managers to integrate environmental, economical, and social aspects into their supply chain operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to propose an alternative methodology for normalization and aggregation in life cycle assessment (LCA). The proposed normalization approach is based on target on emission reduction and the aggregation approach is done through fuzzy inference system. A sensitivity analysis methodology is also presented in order to quantify the magnitude of change in index of total environmental improvement when quantity of a particular emission changes. Index of total environmental improvement of a product is computed by utilizing the proposed methodology in order to demonstrate its applicability. The results show that the methodology is simple and effective. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite the increasing efforts made by the construction sector to reduce the environmental impact of their processes, construction sites are still a major source of pollution and adverse impacts on the environment. This paper aims to improve the understanding of construction-related environmental impacts by identifying on-site causal factors and associated immediate circumstances during construction processes for residential building projects. Based on the literature and focus group findings, we have developed a construction-related Environmental Impact Causal Model consisting of a process-oriented causal network of thirty-nine environmental impacts, forty-five causal factors and over two hundred causal relationships. It is intended to contribute to a reduction in construction-related environmental impacts on building sites by supporting contractors and other decision-makers in the early identification of factors that are likely to lead to impacts or to exacerbate their consequences, as well as the later environmental performance evaluation and control. The causal model is validated by investigating over a hundred environmental incidents. Finally, possible methods to improve construction-related environmental performance are suggested. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper introduces a new methodology for measuring and modeling manufacturers’ environmental performance and the managerial and technological practices that affect it. Facility level licensing data are used to develop indicators based on sector-specific criteria but capable of being analyzed across sectors, at various levels of aggregation. This addresses the problem that environmental performance and determinants tend to be highly context-specific, while modeling and policy interests are often more general. Using Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) information generated EU-wide, this approach should be capable of cross-country extension. The methodology is tested on a sample of Irish facilities in three sectors during 1996–2004. Preliminary results show its usefulness in exploring the determinants of environmental performance at the sector and cross sector levels. Word count = 10,049. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]