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Abstract Gold mining has for several decades contributed to the socio-economic development of many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, but it has also caused considerable environmental damage and human health concerns in mining communities. However, despite the extensive proliferation of policies and programs aimed at addressing the adverse environmental impact of mining, limited attention has so far been paid to identifying what might constitute environmental policy best practices across Sub-Saharan Africa's gold mining sector. To address this gap, this paper undertakes a systematic literature review of environmental policy measures and considers its broader implications for sustainable development in the context of gold mining in Sub-Saharan Africa. Of the 1,217 papers retrieved from the databases, 22 met the inclusion criteria and are included in evidence synthesis. Based on an in-depth analysis, we find that there are tensions and consensus in the environmental policy literature. However, extant works remain fragmented, uneven, and not systematically integrated. This perhaps might explain the difficulty in trying to develop and institutionalize best practices within the gold mining industry in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, we propose an integrated conceptual model that lays a foundation for possible environmental policy best practices within the mining industry in developing countries. The paper concludes by identifying specific theoretical and practical implications of the study and suggests possible avenues for future research. Highlights • Gold mining has contributed to the socio-economic development of many countries. • However, it has also caused considerable environmental damage. • This study explored evidence of environmental policy best practices. • We found that there are tensions and contradictions in the literature. • We propose an integrated conceptual model of environmental policy best practices. • We conclude by considering the theoretical and practical implications of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Maximising opportunities to unlock the potential of national pollution datasets may provide the catalyst to increase transparency of pollution data, foster better communication between government agencies and industry pollutant emitters, and ultimately result in a more effective cleaner production program. In many countries, pollution data is required to be collected and reported under national Pollutant and Transfer Registers (PRTRs), which are becoming established environmental policy tools across the world. This study considers the Australian PRTR experience, by examining data use of its National Pollutant Inventory (NPI). Australian government and industry stakeholders were surveyed (n = 132) about their application of national pollution data, and their views towards potential improvements. The results indicated that government employees and researchers primarily used the inventory to obtain information about pollution, conduct research or to develop and review environmental policies and programs. However it was clear that, due to current limitations with the inventory, its use has not been fully maximised to inform environmental management or for research purposes. Stakeholders called for changes to more robust and nationally consistent emission estimation methods, and increased comprehensiveness, along with a requirement to incorporate international best practice with regards to emission inventories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The National Automotive Policy was introduced in Malaysia in 2006, which includes end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recovery policies. However, there is limited information on the current state of ELV recovery in Malaysia, which hinders the fulfillment of these new requirements. For manufacturers, the lack of information will lead to difficulties in making strategic decisions in order to fulfill the ELV policies. In order to support design strategies for ELV recovery, it is crucial to identify the issues and factors of ELV recovery, which forms the objective of this study. A survey was carried out among the key stakeholders in the aftermarket chain and the results revealed that special tooling is needed to handle ELV components as well as design that will facilitate the separation of parts according to materials. These are among the main factors that contribute toward the effectiveness of ELV recovery. The following 5 factors (pre-production, health and environment, policy and worker, manufacturing process, and end-of-life value) are the factors that will enhance ELV recovery in Malaysia and it is believed that these factors are subject to dynamic changes in the aftermarket chain. It is believed that the results presented in this paper will be useful to academics and researchers in order to establish design strategies for ELV recovery in Malaysia. Moreover, stochastic techniques are required to cater the dynamic and complex behavior of the actual ELV recovery system in Malaysia. Highlights • ELV recovery issues and factors in the automotive industry are investigated. • Special tooling is a critical issues faced by aftermarket stakeholders. • Pre-production, manufacturing process, and EOL value are among the important factors. • Fragility of components is the most important sub-factor. • The proposed factors serve as a guideline to create a dynamic ELV recovery model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately half of today's annual worldwide crop yields can be attributed to the application of mineral fertilizers. Globally, we rely and depend on additional yields as a cornerstone of present and future global food security. In areas with very low nutrient loads, subsidies for appropriate and responsible fertilizer use may help farmers to increase their yields and improve soil fertility. In many countries of the world, fertilizer subsidies are applied as direct payments; however, they have also become an environmental risk factor. We deliberate in what way(s) maximizing the farmer's economic yield conflicts with maximizing societal interests. We show (mathematically) that, from the perspective of a single farmer, under the assumption that crop yields increase monotonically with the application of fertilizers, any fertilizer subsidy provides an economic incentive to increase the application of fertilizer, independent of the amount that has already been applied. We suggest feebate systems (i.e., fee- and rebate-based mechanisms like penalty taxes and subsidies based on a specific reference point or borderline) as an economic strategy for regulating both over- and under-fertilization. This acknowledges the various roles that subsidies have played historically, ranging from agricultural systems that have generally over-fertilized, such as urban agriculture in China, Vietnam, or Indonesia, to countries where fertilizer subsidies are provided to compensate for significant land degradation. In order to connect feebates to fertilization based on a sustainable reference or borderline, we provide a conceptual, multilevel environmental and sustainability assessment that is linked to conventional and market-based economic means, such as farm-specific feebates or cap and trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine the effect of the combination of corporate environmental strategy, top management commitment, and environmental uncertainty, with a focus on the role of environmental management accounting (EMA), on corporate environmental performance. Using an online survey, we collect the sample data of 107 responses in ISO 14001 certified companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The empirical evidence shows that there is a positive and significant influence between those organizational resources (corporate environmental strategy, top management commitment, and environmental uncertainty) on the use of EMA, which in turn can improve the environmental performance of companies. These findings indicate that EMA is a useful and important tool for providing information to achieve superior corporate environmental performance in Indonesian firms and the findings also suit for companies operating in other countries in terms of developing capabilities with regards to perceived environmental uncertainty to be able to manage EMA tools and, as a consequence, to improve organizational environmental performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pricing carbon is a widely used policy instrument for climate change mitigation. Quantitative analysis of carbon pricing are mainly conducted at the regional and national level, rarely at the city level due to data availability. As a representative of coastal megacities that are vulnerable to both climate change and climate policies, Singapore has announced to impose carbon tax on large direct emitters as a complementary mitigation option to technical measures. A city-level Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model is developed to simulate potential impacts of carbon pricing on the city, including paying border-carbon-adjustment (BCA) on exports or introducing a domestic carbon tax. Different sector coverages and carbon tax revenue recycling schemes are investigated for domestic carbon tax. The simulation results show that a domestic carbon tax is a more cost-effective option than paying BCA. Given an identical carbon price at S$10/t-CO 2 , GDP, total exports and household consumption would decline less and average abatement cost is much smaller in the carbon tax scenarios compared to the BCA scenario. In terms of absolute emissions reduction, a carbon tax that covers energy, manufacturing and land transport sectors would be preferred, making emissions around 2.7% lower than 2010 baseline level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To combat significant pollution problems, a number of local governments in China have utilized performance management to improve cadres’ accountability on environmental issues. Despite the extensive literature on public sector performance management, attention to environmental performance management has been relatively scant. Taking Shenzhen – one of China’s most densely populated, affluent, and rapidly growing cities – as a case study, this article describes and analyzes the evolution of the local environmental performance management system from 2007 to 2015. A series of external and internal factors are identified as determinants of policy evolution, including cadres’ individual decision-making, higher-level policies, intra-governmental interactions (horizontally and vertically), the relative salience of environmental issues, and strategies in policy experimentation. The multiplicity of factors further complicates the already complex process of performance measurement by setting it in a complex political context, which can distort the efficacy and objectives of the system, resulting in an unpredictable and compromised policy tool. Improving government environmental performance management involves reducing complexity by reforming aspects of the political context, allowing for a more serious, open, and transparent decision-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated techniques allow calculating the impact of individual pollutants forced on the environment and human health. It is quite difficult to manage and legalize the individual pollutant. Despite various efforts made so far for the effective environmental management, there exists a big challenge for implementing the policy and legislation to meet required standard for safe environment and health. Therefore, recently the integrated management of both medium based (water and air) pollutants has been conceptualized. Hence, this study focuses to compare the current practices of levy enforcement system to the integrated pollutants management system based on the real force of pollutants to the environment and human health. Total environmental performance score (EPS) with highest penalty is found to be 9,873,809,093 (46.59%) for facility categories with Code 51 (Coal Mining), the topmost rank with highest score among total facilities. Eleven industrial categories out of 88 have similar EPS with traditional practices while rest 77 have a dissimilar score. Thirty-three industrial categories rank higher in current levy enforcement than EPS penalty and 44 industrial categories have higher levy than EPS penalty. The existing compliance of legal charge based on simple sum of pollution (SSP) by volume rather than their degree of impact on environment is not scientific. Merely the volume cannot sufficiently reflect the real impact of pollutants. Thus, the enforcement should be amended as per the EPS penalty of pollutants. Hence, this study recommends for the revision of existing policy of legal levy system (LLS) based on IEPS penalty to regulate the equitable enforcement system for the pollutants as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public environmental awareness (PEA) is critical to the implementation of environmental policies by governments and product strategies by companies, however, there is less literature discussing its drivers. Environmental information disclosure (EID), as a bottom-up environmental policy, promotes public environmental management. This paper takes the Pollution Information Transparency Index (PITI) as a proxy for the degree of EID and discusses its impact on PEA. Using the PITI of 113 cities and the Baidu index-based PEA for 30 provinces from 2010 to 2019, we find a significant increase in PEA with the widening of EID, and the impacts of EID get larger as the quantile increases. Moreover, the effects of EID on PEA are amplified in areas with heavy pollution, high levels of green innovation, and stringent environmental governance capacities, but are diminished in areas with rampant corruption. The findings of this paper provide recommendations for optimizing EID implementation. • With the expansion of EID, PEA has increased significantly. • The impacts of EID on PEA are amplified in areas with high pollution, green innovation, and strict governance capacities. • The impacts of EID on PEA are diminished in areas with rampant corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental policies and customer concerns about environmental pollution lead to the implementation of environmental management by companies. Beyond individual-level efforts, manufacturing firms started to integrate green activities into their supply chain management system. However, suppliers still struggled to satisfy the needs of buyers and customers related to environmental capabilities in the construction sector because of the lack of communication resulting from the hierarchical relationship between buyers and suppliers. This study empirically examined the communication capabilities for green supply chain management and the relationship among external green integration, green cost reduction, and corporate competitiveness from the suppliers' perspective. We collected data from a survey of 103 construction suppliers in Korea and employed structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses. The findings from this study indicated that suppliers with higher information sharing capabilities improved their environmental collaboration, contributed to green cost reduction, and achieved their competitive advantage. In addition, the results showed that green alignment—the degree of consistency in the evaluation of suppliers' environmental capabilities made by buyers and suppliers—had a positive influence on the suppliers' competitiveness. Thus, the managers who can understand the buyer-supplier relationship and the necessity for environmental management in supplier firms need to consider information sharing and external green integration as critical factors for the implementation of an effective green supply chain management system. In addition, this study provides scientific value by revealing the role of communication capabilities, identifying the importance of supplier perspective, and exploring green supply chain management in the context of the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of new technologies and techniques for industrial carbon reduction has risen to prominence in contemporary engineering and economics studies, a trend triggered by rising levels of concern regarding climate change. Within this context, the scientific literature puts emphasis on energy topics and energy policy. Studies from the social science, economics and management science perspectives would benefit from a coherent and recognized taxonomy of the subthemes, a taxonomy that spans disciplines and guides studies of the carbon reduction and technology (CRT) debate in the various industrial sectors. This paper identifies and analyses the existing body of literature; it systematically reviews a set of 3310 scholarly contributions. The study also conducts a semantic social network analysis from that dataset's keywords, identifying promising core themes. Findings include the need for more management research in this field, the need for an interdisciplinary research agenda. We also observe a growing contribution of the Chinese academy to this complex and diversified debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on a sample of 519 Turkish firms operating in a wide variety of industries, this study aims at investigating the adoption of corporate environmental policies in a key emerging country. To this end, we first develop a conceptual framework relying predominantly on the arguments of stakeholder and institutional perspectives. Secondly, we examine the moderating effects of a number of firm specific contingency factors on the implementation level of corporate environmental policies. Among the underlying dimensions of corporate environmental policies, “stakeholder pressures” is found to be the most important followed by “environmental management practices”, while “sources of greenhouse gas emissions” feature as relatively less important. Regarding the moderating effect of firm specific contingencies, only firm size and geographic location are noted to have a strong impact on the implementation of corporate environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Strategic niche management has been outlined as a policy approach to assist development and diffusion of cleaner new technologies. Based on a case study describing the efforts of a leading actor in the heavy vehicle industry to develop and commercially introduce hybrid-electric vehicles, this paper discusses strategic niche management from the perspective of the manufacturing firm. In particular, the paper analyses experiences from extensive field tests executed in London, tests which involved a number of different manufacturers, hybrid systems and vehicles. The scale of this technological niche added confidence and credibility to the technology and helped opening up an important niche market, which was supported by an extensive subsidy scheme. The analysis shows how the field tests and the subsidies jointly functioned as bridging policies that facilitated an important step in the market formation process. The analysis further points at a critical tension between niches and the volume-oriented business of a major vehicle manufacturer, showing how investments in new technology need to be warranted in market trends and projections of future sales and production volumes to become accepted within a vehicle manufacturer's organization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite growing interest in, and government support for, ISO14001 certification across Asia in recent years, little is known about issues surrounding the uptake and the effectiveness of environmental management systems in this region. There is a particular void of academic work in relation to ISO certification in India and the country's large number of small and medium enterprises; a field of inquiry this paper seeks to advance. Specifically, as a means of providing a basis for classification of firms for an analysis of the state of ISO14001 in India we test the adequacy of critical factors such as nature of business, size, year of establishment and internationalisation among small and medium enterprises and industry best companies. An analysis is presented of secondary data derived from the websites of a sample of ISO14001 certified firms located in the cities of Delhi and Noida. The data show that in the area of manufacturing the highest number of ISO14001 certifications can be recorded and that established small and medium enterprises with high turnover are more likely to adopt ISO14001 certification compared to low turnover firms. The findings inform the status of environmental management systems in India and have implications for government policy intended to foster ISO14001 uptake by Indian firms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Organizations are faced with increasing pressure to engage in sustainable development and to integrate environmental and social dimensions into their traditional performance metrics. Prior research suggests that lean management and supply management are potentially important determinants of environmental performance and can be seen as capabilities that ease the adoption of environmental practices. To help understand the roles of lean and supply management in regards to improving the firm’s environmental performance, a conceptual model proposes that the magnitude of environmental practices mediates the relationship between lean and supply management with environmental performance. To test the model, plant-level survey data from a sample of Canadian manufacturing plants is used. The results indicate that supply management and lean activities provide means by which resources are invested in environmental practices. The empirical analysis also confirms that the impact of lean management, and to a lesser extent supply management, on environmental performance is mediated by environmental practices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The purpose of the present paper was to examine if Environmental Management Accounting, and especially its tool Environmental Cost Accounting, can support both the augmentation of environmental nonprofit/nongovernmental sector’s accountability, and the provision of meaningful results for policy decision making. Based on a case study at the Hunting Federation of Macedonia and Thrace, a nonprofit forestry organization responsible for the management and protection of wildlife resources in Greece, implications about the challenges of applying Environmental Management Accounting in the sector were examined. It was concluded that the existing Environmental Management Accounting tools can partly address the several dimensions of their operation and additional accounting regimes may be needed. Nevertheless, these tools can prove to be a useful starting point. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The study examines the cost-effectiveness of two wastewater treatment models in China so as to provide a choice for policymaking. We choose the wastewater treatment system in China–Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park as case study because: 1) its sharing wastewater treatment plant (WTP); 2) its WTP was invested and operated by a private company; 3) its firms did not discharge illegal; 4) accessibility of data. The actual costs are determined by an extensive survey of 493 firms registered with the park. These data are also used to create a benchmark model assuming that each firm complies with environmental regulations by constructing its own WTP. The results show that sharing the WTPs greatly reduces the overall treatment cost. Furthermore, it reduces illegal discharges and improves the overall environmental performance of the park. Finally, it enforces cooperation among companies located in the park and creates a good image attracting more enterprises to join in. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An analytical framework is developed in this paper in order to explore the diversity of eco-innovations according to several key dimensions (design, user, product service and governance). The framework is used to analyse a set of case studies of eco-innnovation processes. The diversity of the analysed eco-innovations appears to be considerable; each of them involves different kinds of combinations of elements pertaining to those dimensions. Albeit the design dimension is decisive to determine the environmental impacts of the innovation, all dimensions can play a significant role in the management of eco-innovation. Our findings suggest that the capacity of eco-innovations to provide new business opportunities and contribute to the transformation towards a sustainable society depends on the interplay of those dimensions and the engagement of key stakeholders in the innovation process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This research presents an overview of where the gaps in the literature exist in relation to the link between environmental regulation and proactive environmental management and competitiveness, and incorporates them in a whole model. Different papers have highlighted only partial aspects of these relationships. Specifically, this research evaluates the relationship between managerial perception and the different styles of environmental regulations – command-and-control versus voluntary norms – the mediator role of environmental management in the link between environmental regulations and competitiveness, the effect of competitiveness on financial performance, and the two-way relationship between proactive environmental management and financial performance. Finally, this paper uses statistical evidence to test and estimate causal relationships through a structural equation modelling of 208 firms affected by IPPC law in Spain. There is a lack of systematic statistical evidence on this topic in the literature, which mainly focuses on case studies. The results show that when environmental regulation stems from command-and-control legislation its influence on managerial perception and proactive environmental management is not significant. However, when environmental regulation stems from voluntary norms, its effects are positive. Moreover, investment in proactive environmental management contributes to increasing the competitiveness of the firm. Cost and differentiation competitive advantage have a positive impact on financial performance. Finally, the link between proactive environmental management and financial performance may follow different paths: (1) neither direct nor single, because it can depend on competitive advantage, and (2) direct, because there is a significant two-way relationship between these variables (proactive environmental management influences financial performance and financial performance influences proactive environmental management). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The EMAS Regulation (Reg 761/01 EC) is EU scheme implemented by the European Commission since 1993 and it is for the implementation of an Environmental Management System (EMS) by any organization. The EMS was originally proposed by the European Commission and by the ISO as the frontrunner of a series of policy tools that enable companies to simultaneously pursue environmental objectives and competitive targets in a synergetic way. Based on the unique dataset of the EVER project, this paper investigates whether or not an EMS implemented within the EMAS Regulation has any effect on firm performance both from an environmental and a competitive point of view. Our econometric analysis shows the positive impact of a well-designed environmental management system on environmental performance and, as a consequence, on technical and organizational innovations. Effects on other competitive variables such as market performance, resource productivity and intangible assets are not strongly supported. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study integrates procedures of ISO14001 and port state control to establish environmental performance indicators (EPIs), specific to industrial ports and estates. Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT), an owner of Map Ta Phut industrial port and estate, was used as a case study. Twelve EPIs were developed to assess 5 environmental management aspects being success, awareness, determination, preparedness, and environmental policy coverage. IEAT''s deficiencies in managing the environment were identified for each management aspect. At the end of the study, suggestions on how to improve IEAT''s environmental performance were recommended. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A number of different tools for analysing environmental impacts of different systems have been developed. These include procedural tools such as strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and environmental management systems (EMS) as well as analytical ones such as life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle costing (LCC), cost–benefit analysis (CBA) and the system of economic and environmental accounts (SEEA) including input–output analysis (IOA). Descriptions or scenarios of the future are typically relevant elements in these tools, since they are often used to describe impacts in the future. For futures studies a number of different approaches and techniques have been developed. In an earlier paper we have presented a typology of different types of scenarios that respond to different types of questions. These include predictive scenarios, explorative scenarios and normative scenarios. The aim of this paper is to explore connections between selected tools for environmental systems analysis and different scenario types. Although there is a clear need for futures studies in several tools for environmental systems analysis, it is interesting to note that the literature on methodologies for and case studies of combinations of futures studies and environmental systems analysis tools is rather limited. This suggests that there is a need for further research in this area including both methodology and practical case studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite the progressive use of ecodesign in the industrial world, taking into account environmental constraints remains problematical for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), which seem to be remaining on the fringe of the movement. Beyond the lack of environmental culture in the enterprises, the problem stems from the ecodesign tools which have not been designed with any thought of integrating them into the enterprises'' organisation. There is indeed no method for ecodesign integration in companies. We show in this article that, while in fact there is a thorough and varied set of ecodesign tools available, they will not allow ecodesign to become more widespread while they remain tools for experts. We are therefore putting forward a method to carry out the integration of ecodesign in SMEs during demonstration projects implemented with the assistance of advisory centres specialised in the industrial sector of the company. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]