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Currently, the majority of the European housing stock falls towards the bottom of the energy efficiency rating scale on the EU Energy Performance Certificate. If governments and businesses are to successfully address ambitious CO2 reduction targets, then it will be imperative that energy-efficient measures and policies focus on existing housing. In order to understand what kind of retrofit is needed to achieve an “A” energy performance rating in social housing, the paper reports the findings of an on-going research project in the UK. The paper draws on a case study from the Technology Strategy Board's “Retrofit for the Future” competition entry in Cambridge. The upgrade strategy improved the home's energy performance rating to A, aimed to radically reduce carbon dioxide emissions (17 kg m−2 year−1) and provided affordable warmth for the tenants. In order to get an impression of the actual energy consumption in the case study, energy use behaviour of the household was observed. Based on the barriers identified in the case study, the feasibility of the current UK policy strategies (e.g. Smart Meters and Feed-in-Tariffs) to facilitate the acceptance of energy measures in social housing is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1990s, courses on sustainable development (SD) were introduced in technological universities. After some years of practice, there is increased interest in the evaluation of the most effective ways for teaching SD. This paper introduces the use of conceptual maps as a tool to measure the knowledge acquired by students when taking a Sustainability course. Pilot measurements have been made to evaluate the concepts and their interrelations in order to evaluate the students' learning. These measurements were carried out using a sample of more than 700 European students. To measure the learning outcomes of courses, the evaluation is done twice. Before the course starts, the students' previous knowledge on sustainability is measured; once the students have completed the course they are evaluated again. By comparing conceptual maps drawn by each student, the improvement of the students' knowledge is evaluated. This paper shows the measuring process, and points out the suitability of using conceptual maps for research in education. Moreover, the correlation between the learning outcomes the pedagogical techniques used in each course may indicate the effectiveness of the pedagogical strategies in education for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines empirically how multi-party networks can strive towards sustainable development. It investigates eight tourism networks in Four European countries. All networks cross the private-public-sector borders involving business enterprises, authorities and, occasionally, citizen groups. Some networks Focus on environmental sustainability, whereas for others sociocultural aspects of sustainability are more central. A special emphasis is laid on the SME perspective of these networks. The paper identifies a number of barriers and success Factors of multi-party sustainability networks. Barriers include, For instance, conflicting goals, short-term thinking of participants or false expectations. Some of the key success factors included willingness of the members to invest in the network, the extensive expertise in the network and good contacts with important stakeholders outside the network. The findings indicate that sustainable development goals are interwoven with other personal, firm, regional or societal benefits provided by the network activity, and that such benefits have an important motivational role in the process in which sustainable development is implemented at a practical level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, three universities compare their work on the integration of sustainable development into their educational programmes. The purpose is to show examples of how this can be done and to illustrate important generalised success factors. Methods used to achieve embedding of sustainability in curricula through individual interaction with teachers and other actors are described. The three universities are all technical universities with relatively high ambitions for their activities in relation to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports and analyses the results of a trans-European project to investigate the present and potential future links between the environmental management and management accounting functions of a company or business. A taxonomy of four broad but distinct approaches to environmental accounting is identified from the literature: external financial reporting; social accountability reporting; energy and materials accounting; and environmental management accounting. This project focuses on the latter the generation, analysis and use of financial and related non-financial information, in order to support management within a company or business, in integrating corporate environmental and economic policies and building sustainable business. The research involved interviews with accountants1 and environmental managers at eighty-four companies in Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and the UK, and detailed case studies of fifteen companies in those four countries. The paper summarizes the findings of the research and their implications for four core hypotheses, goes on to discuss international differences, and concludes by reviewing the implications of the results for likely future developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic approaches to environmental management have in some parts of the world received an additional dimension warfare and its aftermath. Warfare means not only loss of human life, loss of amenities, and diversion of materials and goods from regular use to logistic support for combatants, but also the disruption of the established administrative and legal system, designed to protect the environment. The paper advances two hypotheses: (i) that the acute damaging effects of war have their counterparts in ,environmental management malpractice, and (ii) that the aftermath leads to an ambiguous rearrangement of social, economic and environmental management priorities. An analysis is given of the additional cumulative effects of environmental loading as a consequence of warfare, and highlights the importance of the interface between the sciences and society in such specific circumstances. Transition from the centrally planned economies in the emerging slates and societies of Central and Eastern Europe requires conceptual understanding of the time scales necessary and available. Within the time available there will be difficult management choices to be made. condensed into the problem of rearrangement of priorities within a legal system, harmonized with limited possibilities and needs on one side, and the requirements of contemporary environmental management principles and practices in the market economies of the western world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficiency recently became a cornerstone of the European energy policies. A particular mechanism is emerging, namely white certificates. Such certificates attest to the energy efficiency of a product or service according to predefined baselines and targets. White certificates are currently being used in Italy, the United Kingdom and France, while the European Directive on Energy End-Use Efficiency and Energy Services is considering them as a possible remedy to improve security of supply, energy efficiency, environmental protection, economic competitiveness and social cohesion. This article aims accordingly to analyse the potential for a European-wide white certificates scheme, having due regard to the European framework, national experiences and international trade law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study on the role of participation in integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) was undertaken as part of the European Demonstration Programme in Integrated Coastal Zone Management. The study recommends that projects adopt the following criteria: a clear process, representativeness, openness, relevant techniques, sufficient resources, and shared learning. Participation procedures should be integrated with the technical process and mechanisms clearly related to the style and purpose of the project. A main conclusion is that although participation is important, it is not a panacea. While many of the risks involved may be common to consensus building, the study highlights those peculiar to coastal management, such as the historic autonomy of many ports, the fragmented nature of the tourism industry, and suspicion of experts among the maritime community. Finally, it is suggested that ICZM may be considered a suitable paradigm for sustainable development generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents news briefs from about green management in Europe. Environmental legislative proposals Austria is aiming to pursue; European Union's (EU) strategy for climate negotiations; Meeting between the EU Environmental Council and the ministers on the need to develop renewable energy sources.

Provides a case study of European efforts to create flexible policy instruments known as environmental management systems. Information on the systems; Role of policy networks in developing the British environmental management standard and the European Union eco-management audit; Definitions and characteristics of policy networks.

This article examines the role of scientific knowledge in European environmental policy. However, it does so with a wider interest in mind, namely the putative building of a European political culture. In order to do so it attempts to identify some underlying cultural dimensions of scientific discourses for policy of standardization, comparability and objectivity. We analyse one case in detail, that of nature classification under the European CORINE environmental information system. We argue that some basic assumptions made in the construction of this environmental information system have implications not only for science and policy in the sphere of the environment, but for broader debates about identifications with European political culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]