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The business sector is promoting a change in its management model, since the early 90s, when it took a positive attitude toward the environment. Thus, environmental issues have become part of the strategic planning of organizations due to stricter regulations and to society's demands for greater environmental responsibility. Therefore, this study aims to identify and analyze environmental practices adopted by companies of this sector in Goiás and to seek answers to questions related to the factors that can contribute to the creation of competitive advantages within these organizations. Organizations involved in that study are labeled A, B, C and D. This research has used the fundamentals of qualitative and exploratory approach and it can be characterized as a field research. In the growing and processing of sugar cane, certainly negative impacts to the environment are still present. However, adoption of actions mentioned here, as the search for the conservation of soil and vegetation, replacing the burned by harvesters, the rational use of chemicals, the recycling of waste in the production process (such as power generation through bagasse sugarcane), among others, point out benefits to business sector and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This series of articles provides perspectives and recent case examples reflective of the growing interest in and need for formal causal analysis procedures that narrow the uncertainties associated with understanding cause and effect relationships in environmental and health matters. That understanding is important for guiding prevention, remediation, and/or restoration efforts pertaining to environmental stressors. A defensible establishment or refutation of causes is often needed to support legal opinions and/or reach decisions on specific regulatory actions. For complex environmental and health matters, the ability to support cause and effect relationships to a reasonable degree of certainty depends not only on the existence of the relationships but also on the analyst's ability to examine alternative possibilities and to use available evidence to support scientific opinion. Formal casual analyses have evolved to provide analysts with organized frameworks for weighing evidence and decreasing the likelihood of missing important aspects of cause and effect relationships as problems become increasingly complex and less familiar. In this perspectives series, the causal analysis method is explored through additional examination of the underlying philosophies and history of approaches that serve as the foundation of what we consider causal analysis today. In addition, examples of applied causal analysis provide insights into the challenges and benefits of a well thought out causal analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When an environmental impairment has been identified, it becomes necessary to identify the cause so that an appropriate action can be planned. However, causation is difficult to establish—both conceptually and in practice. To ensure that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA's) method for causal assessment is appropriate and defensible, we reviewed concepts of causation from philosophers, statisticians, epidemiologists, and others. This article summarizes the results of that review and explains how it relates to the USEPA's method. We include a five-step process: (1) identify alternative candidate causes; (2) logically eliminate when possible; (3) diagnose when possible; (4) analyze the strength of evidence for remaining candidate causes; and (5) identify the most likely cause. We also encourage three practices: (1) use a consistent process; (2) do not claim proof of causation; and (3) document the evidence and inferences. This approach allows assessors to identify the most likely cause or, failing that, to reduce the set of possible causes and identify information needs for another iteration of causal assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) seek to improve the environment by encouraging, rather than mandating, businesses and other organizations to adopt environmentally protective measures. Since the 1990s, VEPs established by industry, government, and nongovernmental organizations have proliferated around the globe, raising the question of how effective these programs are in securing environmental protection, both on their own and in comparison to traditional mandatory regulations. This article reviews the emerging research literature on VEPs, describing the variation in their structures, providing a framework for assessing their impacts, and summarizing what is known about why organizations engage in voluntary environmental action and what effects these programs have on environmental quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the analysis of a large dataset on the environmental performance of European companies in five industrial sectors, this paper examines the question of whether the presence of an environmental management system (EMS) has a positive impact on the eco-efficiency of companies. It begins with a review of evidence about the link between EMS and environmental performance in business organisations, finding that, despite much research, there is still little quantitative evidence. The second part of the paper uses three independent statistical methods (simple correlations, Jaggi-Freedman indices and a 'trend differences' approach) to assess whether companies and production sites with EMS perform better than those without and whether performance improves after an EMS has been introduced. The paper shows that there is currently no evidence that EMS have a consistent and significant positive impact on environmental performance. Policy action based on the simple assumption that companies with an EMS perform better than those without therefore seems inappropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of potentially invasive species is a concern to the public and the aquaculture industry. Used to protect channel catfish from infectious trematode infestations, the non-indigenous black carp has been evaluated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and deemed potentially ‘injurious’ under the terms of the Lacey Act. Consequently, the black carp may be restricted from interstate commerce and eventually removed from US waters. An alternative approach to evaluating the risks posed by invasive species is considered and compared to that used by the USFWS. Short of outright restriction, reasonable options for management of such invasive species probably exist, including better use of environmental assurance bonds and return-deposit models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological restoration is an expanding area of science and practice for environmental management, but in urban environments in particular its challenge to traditional approaches can be limited because it is seen primarily as a scientific or practical endeavour rather than a social one. In general, the restoration literature, especially on the scientific and practitioner side, suffers from the ‘deficit model’ of public understanding and from a lack of fit between the expectations of restoration and policy workers and those of their local publics. Hence, the irony is that, although restorationists may be seen as radical in scientific and policy terms because of their challenge to the tradition of the ‘hard engineering’ of rivers, they are not radical in social science terms because they fail to challenge the tradition of technocratic environmental management of the public and its deficit model. We illustrate this through two examples of urban river restoration in England—the Alt and the Brent—and we conclude by suggesting how such problems might be addressed through more emphasis on and integration of social science within research and practical agendas for urban restoration projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mining Sector in Asia has often been characterized more by poor rather than by good environmental management. Thus, "mining and the environment" occupy contested terrain. This article focuses mainly on the small-scale mining sector, with examples drawn from the region. Small-scale artisanal mining is frequently depicted as environ- mentally harmful; however, even with large mining operations there are areas where environmental mismanagement may occur. Tailings disposal and reclamation following mine closure are the most frequent examples. Sometimes the nexus between large-scale mines and national or regional government makes environmental regulation enforcement problematic. Links between local government and small-scale mining operations can bring similar regulatory problems. In some countries, small-scale mining's illegality makes regulation a near impossibility. Although acknowledging that little actually has been achieved so far, the article suggests that nonetheless good environmental management might be easier to establish in this sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operational dilemmas and challenges associated with the practice of community-based environmental planning (CBEP) are examined. The paper examines the frequently invoked ‘bottom-up’ versus ‘top-down’ dichotomy and argues that environmental governance is more complex, dynamic and multi-scalar than this simple dichotomy implies. The paper identifies six key problems with the CBEP approach: (i) the conceptualization of ‘community’ which poorly accounts for difference; (ii) problems of inequality; (iii) the organizational capacity and efficacy of community groups; (iv) the scale of CBEP; (v) the types of knowledge utilized by communities in environmental management; and (vi) the potential for parochial concerns to dominate the priorities and agenda of community organizations. The paper analyses each of these issues, identifies planning principles that may aid resolution, and suggests possible remedies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on implementing environmental management systems in the federal government. Managing environmental conditions in federal facilities poses major challenges throughout the U.S. government. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there are 12,153 regulated federal facilities nationwide. The increasing age of federal facilities along with decreasing agency budgets for equipment repair and replacement and the shifting of dwindling resources into more politically attractive areas are increasingly problematic. However, the private sector's approach in applying management system principles to environmental issues has shown that they can be very effective. This organized approach of management system principles, also known as environmental management systems (EMS), can lead to more efficient and effective environmental management in federal facilities. For the federal government, EMSs are now the preferred means of managing facility environmental conditions. However, EMS implementation cannot be accomplished overnight.

Littoral zone is a special land/ landscape type. As an important kind of land resource in support, the use of littoral zone is vital to eastern coastal areas in China. And the research on littoral zone relates to the key theory of landscape ecology. Based on the theory of landscape ecology, the littoral zone was divided into four types: mud flat, sand beach, bench, and biological flat. The distribution of each type in China is pointed out. As a typical open system, littoral zone has six landscape ecological characteristics: (1) high sensitivity to disturbance; (2) distinct edge effect; (3) spatial aggregation of natural resources; (4) frequently spatial oscillation; (5) obviously spatial heterogeneity; and (6) noticeably spatial differentiation. Some proposals are also put forward on the land use and development of littoral zone for environmental protection and environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Japanese experience with environmental management shows that a holistic strategy integrating three managerial dimensions--social, economic and environmental--is required. Four strategic implications can be learned from Japanese successes and failures in environmental management: how to build cooperative approaches among actors in environmental governance; how to deal with economic and environmental dilemmas; how to structure national environmental policy; and how to finance environmental pollution controls. The strategic principles of these four aspects are universally applicable to other countries. Nevertheless, the applicability of Japanese experiences and lessons to specific countries requires further comparative studies that take the socioeconomic, political and cultural backgrounds of the countries into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the decision of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to update its position statement on environmental management systems (EMS). The EPA has encouraged organizations to implement EMS that result in improved environmental performance and compliance, cost savings, pollution prevention through source reduction, and continual improvement. Private and public organizations have increasingly adopted formal EMS to address their environmental responsibilities. The agency pointed out that the EMS can improve organizational efficiency and competitiveness, provide an infrastructure for public communication and engagement, and provide a platform to address other important issues such as security.