Effectiveness and Benefits of the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme: Evidence from Polish Organisations

Climate change and environmental pollution are considered to be among the main challenges faced by the modern world. The growth of environmental awareness and the adoption of a pro-environmental approach are considered to be the key megatrends with the greatest impact on the global economy in the upcoming years. According to Eurobarometer, EU citizens are particularly aware of the importance of protecting the environment. Although the negative environmental impact of European industry has improved over the past decades, EU citizens believe that there is further scope in terms of helping companies transition towards adopting more sustainable models. One of the factors contributing to the reduction in negative environmental impact is the participation of enterprises in voluntary programs such as the Environmental Management System (EMS), according to ISO 14001, or the Eco-management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). The whole population of Polish companies registered under the EMAS was included in the study and although the sample size was small, it was a full study, and for that reason allows for the generalisation and conclusion regarding the whole population of EMAS-registered companies in Poland. The results of the study conducted on EMAS-registered organisations in Poland in 2015 suggest that the average effectiveness of the EMAS observed between 2007 and 2014 was 66.4%. The aim of this study was to review the changes in EMAS effectiveness and benefits obtained by participating organisations after five years. The results indicate that the average effectiveness during the period of 2015–2020 increased to 79.1%; nevertheless, registered organisations recognise fewer benefits for participation in the scheme. The study has shown that as EMAS matures in organisations, it becomes more effective. It influences a lot of factors, such as environmental awareness and management commitment, the use of SRDs (including BEMPs), environmental performance indicators for specific sectors, the criteria for the excellence of assessing the level of environmental performance, and the skilful use of indicators in organisations.

Problems of water and wastewater utilities with technological regulation and introduction of industrial environmental control

Приведены требования природоохранного законодательства при переходе к технологическому нормированию на основе технологических показателей наилучших доступных технологий, организации производственного экологического контроля, в том числе систем автоматического контроля сбросов и выбросов загрязняющих веществ. Представлен анализ нормативных правовых актов природоохранного законодательства, а также ряд проблем, возникающих при реализации требований этих актов при внедрении наилучших доступных технологий и организации производственного экологического контроля на объектах водоотведения предприятий водопроводно-канализационного хозяйства. Проблемы представлены в отношении следующих факторов: невозможности или избыточности проведения инвентаризации сбросов по ряду загрязняющих веществ; недостаточности предельного срока 7 лет для реализации программ повышения экологической эффективности и планов мероприятий по охране окружающей среды при наличии нескольких объектов I и II категорий негативного воздействия на окружающую среду; избыточности требований установления технологических нормативов сбросов на уровне «от достигнутого»; противоречий нормативных актов, затрудняющих внедрение систем автоматического контроля. В статье использованы: опыт строительства и реконструкции ГУП «Водоканал Санкт-Петербурга» очистных сооружений централизованных систем водоотведения; практика производственного экологического контроля, а также результаты взаимодействия отраслевого сообщества организаций водопроводно-канализационного хозяйства; выводы, полученные при актуализации в 2021 г. ИТС 22.1-2016 «Общие принципы производственного экологического контроля и его метрологического обеспечения». Предлагаются пути решения проблем. The requirements of the environmental legislation in the process of transition to technological regulation based on the process parameters of the best available technologies, the introduction of the industrial environmental control including systems for automatic control of pollution discharges and emissions, are given. An analysis of the regulations of the environmental legislation is presented, as well as a number of problems arising in the implementation of the requirements of these regulations in the introduction of the best available technologies and industrial environmental control at the wastewater facilities of water and wastewater utilities are described. Problems are highlighted in relation to the following factors: impossibility or redundancy of conducting an inventory of discharges for a number of pollutants; inadequacy of the 7-year deadline for the implementation of the programs for improving the environmental efficiency and plans of action for environmental protection in presence of several objects of the I and II categories of the negative environmental impact; redundancy of the requirements for establishing technological regulations for discharges at the level «from the achieved»; contradictions in the regulations that complicate the introduction of automatic control systems. The paper describes the experience of the construction and upgrade of the public wastewater disposal facilities operated by SUE «Vodokanal of St. Petersburg»; the practice of industrial environmental control, as well as the results of the interaction between the sectoral community of the water supply and wastewater disposal utilities; the conclusions drawn during updating ITS 22.1-2016 «General principles of industrial environmental control and its metrological support» in 2021. The ways of addressing the problems are proposed.

Digitalization of state environmental management: Legal aspects

This article discusses the features of the digital transformation of the following state functions: information support in the field of environmental protection, state accounting in the field of environmental protection, regulation in the field of environmental protection (in terms of the use of the best available technologies), state environmental supervision, and administration of fees for negative environmental impact (NVOS). It is proved that the data of the state register of objects of negative impact, formed as a result of the state accounting of objects that have a negative impact on the environment, the implementation of state environmental supervision, and the administration of fees for NWOS should become the basis for making environmentally significant decisions. To expand the scope of use of this information, it is proposed to ensure the interoperability of the state register data. In addition, the authors come to the conclusion that digitalization of technological rationing based on the best available technologies (hereinafter also BAT) is associated with the use of such technologies as data turnover regulation, experimental legal regimes (regulatory sandboxes) and assessment of the compliance of the applied technology with the best available technology. Moreover, when implementing state environmental supervision, inspections should be planned based on the hazard category of objects of negative impact and when conducting inspections, remote control methods should be used. It is also essential to introduce electronic test sheets for self-checking enterprises. Finally, the digitalization of calculating and collecting fees for NVOS should ensure the smooth functioning of calculating fees by the payer in digital format and control over the correctness of calculation and collection by the supervisory authority.

Building Materials Made of Wood Waste a Solution to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

In order to reduce the impact of human activities on the environment, in 2015, the United Nations launched the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, proposing 17 Sustainable Development Goals with 169 associated targets. It is well-known that the construction industry is a major contributor to global CO2 emissions, and if a solution to reduce construction activity is not possible, considering the increasing population, then other solutions must be developed to decrease their negative environmental impact. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the use of wood waste as a building material can be a solution to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The research procedure included a bibliometric literature search, a scientometric analysis and an in-depth discussion. The analysis was done with the help of the software VOSviewer and Bibliometrix; the data were extracted mainly from the ISI Web of Science database. The extraction of data was done using the PRISMA method, and thus a sample of 212 peer-reviewed journal articles was established. The main results indicate an increasing interest in this topic in the last several years, as well as a switch from considering wood waste as just a source to generate heat and energy to the use of wood waste as a building material. The main uses of wood waste as a building material are in the composition of particleboards and in various mortar and concrete mixtures. The field of wood waste has many potential directions towards future development, and if the immense treasure represented by the forests, and implicitly the wood, is used efficiently, it can be a good solution to the problem of sustainable development of society.

Quartzite Mining Waste: Diagnosis of ASR Alkali-Silica Reaction in Mortars and Portland Cement Concrete

The main objective was to determine the deleterious potential of quartzite mining tailings subjected to different ASR alkali–silica reaction tests. The studies included petrographic analysis, chemical analysis of cements, expansion tests in mortar bars and concrete prisms, and microstructural analysis. Petrographic analysis of quartzites indicated high percentages of deformed quartz (95%), and were classified as potentially reactive. Two types of HES high early strength cement with alkaline equivalents of 0.749% and 0.61%, respectively, were selected. Of the 8 samples analyzed by the accelerated method in mortars, only 2 quartzite samples and 1 diabasium sample indicated potentially reactive behavior. The accelerated and long-term methods in concrete prisms proved to be effective and were consistent with the deleterious potential of the samples. All analyzed samples were diagnosed with the ASR gel. In the microstructural analysis, in addition to the ASR products, other expansive products of late ettringite were detected. Reaction mitigation methods are proposed so that quartzite waste can be used as an alternative aggregate in concrete, and thus contribute to the reduction of mine tailings and, consequently, reduce the negative environmental impact from mining.

DOSES AND SPLIT NITROGEN FERTILIZER APPLICATIONS ON THE PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY OF ARUGULA1

ABSTRACT Splitting nitrogen (N) fertilizer application can be an efficient nutrient management technique to improve productivity and plant quality, as well as to reduce the negative environmental impact caused by N losses. In this context, the present study investigated how the management of N affects the agronomic characteristics of field-grown arugula plants. Nine treatments were assessed in a randomized complete block design, in a 4 x 2 + 1 factorial scheme, with three replicates. The evaluated factors were doses of N (60, 120, 180 and 240 kg N ha-1), split N fertilizer applications at side-dress (two and three times) and an additional treatment without a N supply. Maximum height was obtained with the application of 198 kg N ha-1. Nitrate content, fresh mass and productivity increased with increasing N doses. There was no effect of split N fertilizer applications on the characteristics evaluated. Therefore, the supply of 240 kg N ha-1 divided into two portions was considered as the best management strategy.

Sustainable intensification for a larger global rice bowl

Future rice systems must produce more grain while minimizing the negative environmental impacts. A key question is how to orient agricultural research & development (R&D) programs at national to global scales to maximize the return on investment. Here we assess yield gap and resource-use efficiency (including water, pesticides, nitrogen, labor, energy, and associated global warming potential) across 32 rice cropping systems covering half of global rice harvested area. We show that achieving high yields and high resource-use efficiencies are not conflicting goals. Most cropping systems have room for increasing yield, resource-use efficiency, or both. In aggregate, current total rice production could be increased by 32%, and excess nitrogen almost eliminated, by focusing on a relatively small number of cropping systems with either large yield gaps or poor resource-use efficiencies. This study provides essential strategic insight on yield gap and resource-use efficiency for prioritizing national and global agricultural R&D investments to ensure adequate rice supply while minimizing negative environmental impact in coming decades.

Features of the negative impact of modern infrastructure facilities in urbanized areas on the environment

In the paper, the authors analyze the impact of modern infrastructure facilities in urbanized areas on the quality of the environment. The first stage of the study was to consider the changes in the urban environment of recent decades, which consists in the transformation of many former industrial zones into large objects of a cultural and entertainment nature, namely shopping and entertainment centers (SEC) or complexes (SECo). The authors also pay special attention to the description of the structural diagram of typical SEC or SECo, the main sources of negative environmental impact from them, as well as directly to the types of these impacts. The analysis carried out confirmed that it would be wrong to say that the quality of the environment in urbanized areas has improved due to the replacement of industrial facilities within cities with SEC or SECo. The authors consider the further task of scientific research to be the process of constructing physical models of pollution processes and reducing air pollution for individual sources for the purpose of subsequent analysis and highlighting promising directions (methods and options) for implementing a system for combating pollution.

Environmental Preferences and Fish Handling Practice among European Freshwater Anglers with Different Fishing Specialization Profiles

Recreational specialization is characteristic of many activities, including recreational fishing, which is a popular and important form of recreation throughout the world. The pressure on the environmental resources used by anglers is increasing. It is becoming crucial to understand the preferences and behaviors of anglers, which can accumulate and multiply the risk of damage to fish stocks and aquatic habitats. The main objective of the study was to comprehensively analyze the differences between anglers with diverse specialization profiles. By investigating the fishing preferences within the context of the socioeconomic, demographic and engagement factors, three groups of anglers were identified: anglers who specialize in predatory fish, anglers who specialize in non-predatory fish and unspecialized anglers. Specialized anglers, regardless of type, were found to be more supportive of releasing caught fish (71% on average) and were less likely to keep them (16%) than unspecialized anglers (55% and 27%, respectively). Unspecialized anglers (26.5% of the surveyed population) show less commitment to ethical values. The potential negative environmental impact of the least specialized anglers is an accumulation of the preferences for the use of ground bait, artificial lures, and live fish as bait. Anglers specializing in predatory fish are the most critical in their evaluation of fish resources and water quality and are least attached to specific fisheries. This work provides insight into angler experience and it may help to better identify anglers who are disrespectful towards the fishing laws in place. The results of this work may be incorporated into fishery management strategies, including strategies to reduce naïve anglers and deter disrespectful anglers, which are lucrative in the fishing process.

Tactical Innovation to Incorporate Post-Consumer Expanded Polystyrene in Artisanal Chains for the Doping of Products

In its original manufacturing purpose, Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) is an industrial product with a short life cycle and waste with high negative environmental impact. Given this externality, this article contributes to the state of the art by proposing reuse EPS as a raw material valuable to the process of manufacturing hats in a Mexican company. The SCAMPER technique is used to formulate a hardener, which is optimized with a Taguchi design. Statistically, there is no difference between the quality of the conventional hardener and the mixture based on post-consumer EPS to make hats based on the standards defined by the company; a subjective analysis supported by the judgment of experts validates the quality of the hats. A contour graph and response surface reflect different combinations of solute and solvent to formulate the glue for the doping of the hat, with the same hardness results. This allows the artisan to assess the formulation from an economical point of view, as well as with respect to the arrangement of materials. These results specifically propose the sustainable alternative of integrating waste from the post–consumer EPS chain into the artisanal hat value chain, and are replicable to other similar products.