Pub Date : 2020-03-01DOI: 10.1177/1070496519886013
Benjamin Schmid, T. Meister, B. Klagge, I. Seidl
Participation of citizens in local energy decisions is increasingly recognized as helpful for a successful decentralized energy transition. In this article, we focus on energy cooperatives in which private individuals jointly develop facilities to generate energy from renewable sources, thus involving citizens both politically and economically. Focusing on Switzerland and Germany, we show that there is a strong linkage between such cooperatives and municipalities, characterized by collaboration and support, and that the cooperatives are well suited as collaborating partners. We also show that federalist structures are most suited for such local arrangements as municipalities must have leeway to support cooperatives in a targeted manner and to compensate for shortcomings in the energy policy of superordinate governmental levels. Based on these results, we suggest that local governments should be given sufficient financial capacities and autonomy to strengthen implementation of a decentralized energy transition that involves citizens. However, we also recognize that municipal structures alone are often insufficient and that superordinate policies, especially national subsidies, remain essential. Hence, policies at the municipal and national levels should take greater account of citizen initiatives, such as energy cooperatives, which exhibit various noncommodifiable advantages relevant to the energy transition.
{"title":"Energy Cooperatives and Municipalities in Local Energy Governance Arrangements in Switzerland and Germany","authors":"Benjamin Schmid, T. Meister, B. Klagge, I. Seidl","doi":"10.1177/1070496519886013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1070496519886013","url":null,"abstract":"Participation of citizens in local energy decisions is increasingly recognized as helpful for a successful decentralized energy transition. In this article, we focus on energy cooperatives in which private individuals jointly develop facilities to generate energy from renewable sources, thus involving citizens both politically and economically. Focusing on Switzerland and Germany, we show that there is a strong linkage between such cooperatives and municipalities, characterized by collaboration and support, and that the cooperatives are well suited as collaborating partners. We also show that federalist structures are most suited for such local arrangements as municipalities must have leeway to support cooperatives in a targeted manner and to compensate for shortcomings in the energy policy of superordinate governmental levels. Based on these results, we suggest that local governments should be given sufficient financial capacities and autonomy to strengthen implementation of a decentralized energy transition that involves citizens. However, we also recognize that municipal structures alone are often insufficient and that superordinate policies, especially national subsidies, remain essential. Hence, policies at the municipal and national levels should take greater account of citizen initiatives, such as energy cooperatives, which exhibit various noncommodifiable advantages relevant to the energy transition.","PeriodicalId":47090,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environment & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1070496519886013","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44688171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-02-14DOI: 10.1177/1070496520905625
O. Bruun
Vietnam’s uncompromising economic growth priorities under Communist Party leadership have left environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity in its wake, and the country is in many respects at a critical threshold. Even so, recent debate has emphasized that state or “authoritarian” environmentalism may have political advantages in determined and coordinated environmental response, although the downside may be a denial of personal responsibility and low public awareness. Building on a series of field studies in rural and highland Vietnam, this article puts everyday environmental perceptions and practices into the perspective of long-term authoritarian governance. It explores the resulting hierarchization of state–society relations and fragmentation of social forces, in which environmental action, responsibility, and ethics primarily emanate from the state sphere. It argues that authoritarianism has contributed to a critical disjuncture between shared norms and the objective conditions of the biophysical environment, as comprehensive state dominance hampers autonomous value change in society.
{"title":"Environmental Protection in the Hands of the State: Authoritarian Environmentalism and Popular Perceptions in Vietnam","authors":"O. Bruun","doi":"10.1177/1070496520905625","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1070496520905625","url":null,"abstract":"Vietnam’s uncompromising economic growth priorities under Communist Party leadership have left environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity in its wake, and the country is in many respects at a critical threshold. Even so, recent debate has emphasized that state or “authoritarian” environmentalism may have political advantages in determined and coordinated environmental response, although the downside may be a denial of personal responsibility and low public awareness. Building on a series of field studies in rural and highland Vietnam, this article puts everyday environmental perceptions and practices into the perspective of long-term authoritarian governance. It explores the resulting hierarchization of state–society relations and fragmentation of social forces, in which environmental action, responsibility, and ethics primarily emanate from the state sphere. It argues that authoritarianism has contributed to a critical disjuncture between shared norms and the objective conditions of the biophysical environment, as comprehensive state dominance hampers autonomous value change in society.","PeriodicalId":47090,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environment & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2020-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1070496520905625","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48188591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-14DOI: 10.1177/1070496519898218
M. Oteng-Ababio, Maja van der Velden, Mark B. Taylor
This article explores the compatibility of Ghana’s e-waste policy (Act 917) in the country’s socioeconomic context. Our article starts with two main questions based on our empirical engagements with the act which, contextually, mimics the extended producer responsibility. First, we question the pessimistic imaginaries about the e-waste industry that seeks its outright trade ban or promotes a single version of recycling. Second, we query if the underlying assumptions and basic mechanisms of extended producer responsibility can create the enabling environment to actualize sound e-waste management. Based on prevailing context, the imaginaries appear socially peripheral, isolated, and powerless, and we call for a broader, unbiased, in-depth, critical systems thinking for understanding the complexities and multidimensional nature of the waste electrical and electronic equipment industry. We suggest that it is by fostering the positive synergies across sectors and among policies that environmentally sound e-waste policy outcomes can be achievable.
{"title":"Building Policy Coherence for Sound Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Management in a Developing Country","authors":"M. Oteng-Ababio, Maja van der Velden, Mark B. Taylor","doi":"10.1177/1070496519898218","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1070496519898218","url":null,"abstract":"This article explores the compatibility of Ghana’s e-waste policy (Act 917) in the country’s socioeconomic context. Our article starts with two main questions based on our empirical engagements with the act which, contextually, mimics the extended producer responsibility. First, we question the pessimistic imaginaries about the e-waste industry that seeks its outright trade ban or promotes a single version of recycling. Second, we query if the underlying assumptions and basic mechanisms of extended producer responsibility can create the enabling environment to actualize sound e-waste management. Based on prevailing context, the imaginaries appear socially peripheral, isolated, and powerless, and we call for a broader, unbiased, in-depth, critical systems thinking for understanding the complexities and multidimensional nature of the waste electrical and electronic equipment industry. We suggest that it is by fostering the positive synergies across sectors and among policies that environmentally sound e-waste policy outcomes can be achievable.","PeriodicalId":47090,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environment & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1070496519898218","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42974114","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-12-03DOI: 10.1177/1070496519887489
A. Balthasar, M. Schreurs, Frédéric Varone
The focus of this special issue is on the energy transformations taking place in several European countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland) and at the federal and subnational (state) levels in the United States with special attention given to California. The cases examined all have federalist structures, and with the exception of the federal level of the United States, all have relatively ambitious climate and renewable energy targets. We compare these states out of an interest in better understanding how federalism interacts with energy transitions. The comparison is also intriguing as at the federal level the United States presents a stark contrast with the federalist European countries considered in this special issue but at the subnational level many similarities can be found.
{"title":"Energy Transition in Europe and the United States: Policy Entrepreneurs and Veto Players in Federalist Systems","authors":"A. Balthasar, M. Schreurs, Frédéric Varone","doi":"10.1177/1070496519887489","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1070496519887489","url":null,"abstract":"The focus of this special issue is on the energy transformations taking place in several European countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland) and at the federal and subnational (state) levels in the United States with special attention given to California. The cases examined all have federalist structures, and with the exception of the federal level of the United States, all have relatively ambitious climate and renewable energy targets. We compare these states out of an interest in better understanding how federalism interacts with energy transitions. The comparison is also intriguing as at the federal level the United States presents a stark contrast with the federalist European countries considered in this special issue but at the subnational level many similarities can be found.","PeriodicalId":47090,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environment & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2019-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1070496519887489","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46738099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-11-27DOI: 10.1177/1070496519888252
S. Kim, S. P. Harish, Ryan Kennedy, X. Jin, Johannes Urpelainen
Air pollution is a pressing problem of public health for developing countries, but governments have few incentives to abate air pollution without public awareness of the issue. Focusing on the case of Vietnam, we examine the determinants of public awareness of air pollution. Using representative survey data for the entire country from 2017, we find that local exposure to air pollution increases public awareness and reduces satisfaction with governments but does not provoke opposition to coal-fired power generation. In contrast, education leads people to oppose coal-fired power plants. These results suggest that while local air pollution contributes to awareness and dissatisfaction with the government, support for effective policy measures depends on education levels.
{"title":"Environmental Degradation and Public Opinion: The Case of Air Pollution in Vietnam","authors":"S. Kim, S. P. Harish, Ryan Kennedy, X. Jin, Johannes Urpelainen","doi":"10.1177/1070496519888252","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1070496519888252","url":null,"abstract":"Air pollution is a pressing problem of public health for developing countries, but governments have few incentives to abate air pollution without public awareness of the issue. Focusing on the case of Vietnam, we examine the determinants of public awareness of air pollution. Using representative survey data for the entire country from 2017, we find that local exposure to air pollution increases public awareness and reduces satisfaction with governments but does not provoke opposition to coal-fired power generation. In contrast, education leads people to oppose coal-fired power plants. These results suggest that while local air pollution contributes to awareness and dissatisfaction with the government, support for effective policy measures depends on education levels.","PeriodicalId":47090,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environment & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2019-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1070496519888252","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42000091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-11-22DOI: 10.1177/1070496519886005
Isabelle Stadelmann‐Steffen, S. Rieder, Chantal Strotz
This article explores the factors that hinder and promote the deployment of renewable energy generating infrastructure in/across the Swiss cantons (i.e., the country’s federal units). Using the example of small-scale hydropower, we shed light on how political regulations at the cantonal level interact with national policies and the local political process to affect the deployment of renewable energy production. The analysis demonstrates that political regulations can both foster and hinder the deployment of renewable energy production. While the national feed-in tariff scheme is revealed to be a beneficial framework condition, cantonal regulations hamper, rather than facilitate, the deployment of small-scale hydropower. Moreover, inclusive local processes and the existence of local entrepreneurs seem to act as a trigger for the local acceptance of renewable energy generation infrastructure. More generally, we conclude that, quite independently of whether state structures are decentralized or centralized, subnational and local leeway in the definition and organization of projects can help to prevent or deal with local opposition.
{"title":"The Politics of Renewable Energy Production in a Federal Context: The Deployment of Small Hydropower in the Swiss Cantons","authors":"Isabelle Stadelmann‐Steffen, S. Rieder, Chantal Strotz","doi":"10.1177/1070496519886005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1070496519886005","url":null,"abstract":"This article explores the factors that hinder and promote the deployment of renewable energy generating infrastructure in/across the Swiss cantons (i.e., the country’s federal units). Using the example of small-scale hydropower, we shed light on how political regulations at the cantonal level interact with national policies and the local political process to affect the deployment of renewable energy production. The analysis demonstrates that political regulations can both foster and hinder the deployment of renewable energy production. While the national feed-in tariff scheme is revealed to be a beneficial framework condition, cantonal regulations hamper, rather than facilitate, the deployment of small-scale hydropower. Moreover, inclusive local processes and the existence of local entrepreneurs seem to act as a trigger for the local acceptance of renewable energy generation infrastructure. More generally, we conclude that, quite independently of whether state structures are decentralized or centralized, subnational and local leeway in the definition and organization of projects can help to prevent or deal with local opposition.","PeriodicalId":47090,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environment & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2019-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1070496519886005","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45990498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-10-01DOI: 10.1177/1070496519877483
A. Mori, S. Rahman, M. Uddin
There is an ongoing debate about criteria based on which allocation of climate finance, particularly financing adaptation, is made. This article aims at investigating the determinants of fund allocation and the consequences of rearrangement considering the case of the Adaptation Fund (AF). This research conducts a mixed-method approach including binary logistic regression and multiple regressions to analyze the factors that influence access to and volume of funding from the AF, respectively, along with a qualitative assessment of the AF’s institutional features. The findings suggest that the level of vulnerability of a country is likely to affect accessibility to and the volume of funding from the AF. Besides, low-income countries are more likely while least developed countries are less likely to access the fund. Readiness of country is not significant for accessing the AF; however, it affects the volume of funding. Funding allocation rearrangement may put the AF on pressure for effective use of the readiness program.
{"title":"Climate Financing Through the Adaptation Fund: What Determines Fund Allocation?","authors":"A. Mori, S. Rahman, M. Uddin","doi":"10.1177/1070496519877483","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1070496519877483","url":null,"abstract":"There is an ongoing debate about criteria based on which allocation of climate finance, particularly financing adaptation, is made. This article aims at investigating the determinants of fund allocation and the consequences of rearrangement considering the case of the Adaptation Fund (AF). This research conducts a mixed-method approach including binary logistic regression and multiple regressions to analyze the factors that influence access to and volume of funding from the AF, respectively, along with a qualitative assessment of the AF’s institutional features. The findings suggest that the level of vulnerability of a country is likely to affect accessibility to and the volume of funding from the AF. Besides, low-income countries are more likely while least developed countries are less likely to access the fund. Readiness of country is not significant for accessing the AF; however, it affects the volume of funding. Funding allocation rearrangement may put the AF on pressure for effective use of the readiness program.","PeriodicalId":47090,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environment & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2019-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1070496519877483","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43951163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-09-02DOI: 10.1177/1070496519870276
Xuan Zou, Can Lei, K. Gao, Chun-Tien Hu
Having a reasonable environmental management system is key to achieve regional green development. This article integrates environmental decentralization into an environmental/economic analytical framework, introducing a fiscal decentralization indicator to explore the mechanism of environmental decentralization and regional green development, and then tests this concept using Chinese provincial penal data. The results show that the spillover effect of green development is significant: Improving regional green development will promote green development in neighboring regions. At the national level, different categories of environmental decentralization have different effects, and these can also affect green development through both direct and indirect paths. There is also a positive interaction mechanism between these two variables. Moreover, the interaction between environmental and fiscal decentralization has a negative effect on regional green development, with the impact varying across regions. These findings play an important role in green development, industrial transformation, and advancement, especially in China.
{"title":"Impact of Environmental Decentralization on Regional Green Development","authors":"Xuan Zou, Can Lei, K. Gao, Chun-Tien Hu","doi":"10.1177/1070496519870276","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1070496519870276","url":null,"abstract":"Having a reasonable environmental management system is key to achieve regional green development. This article integrates environmental decentralization into an environmental/economic analytical framework, introducing a fiscal decentralization indicator to explore the mechanism of environmental decentralization and regional green development, and then tests this concept using Chinese provincial penal data. The results show that the spillover effect of green development is significant: Improving regional green development will promote green development in neighboring regions. At the national level, different categories of environmental decentralization have different effects, and these can also affect green development through both direct and indirect paths. There is also a positive interaction mechanism between these two variables. Moreover, the interaction between environmental and fiscal decentralization has a negative effect on regional green development, with the impact varying across regions. These findings play an important role in green development, industrial transformation, and advancement, especially in China.","PeriodicalId":47090,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environment & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2019-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1070496519870276","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47458257","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-08-27DOI: 10.1177/1070496519870299
Natalie Kopytko
Critical to sustainable agriculture, agrobiodiversity conservation provides immediate benefits and retains options for climate change adaptation. Reframing conservation as sustainable seed innovation allows for a dynamic view of farmer contributions. Sustainable seed innovation entails in situ conservation and the innovation of new plant varieties through traditional practices. Farmer interviews from regions throughout India form the empirical basis, while the concept intellectual property-broad, integrated with evolutionary economics, informs theory. Sustainable seed innovation within India receives support primarily from nonprofit groups favoring open-source systems. Conserving natural and financial capital motivated farmers to adopt sustainable techniques, but farmers believed attracting additional innovators required development of new markets. India’s Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act recognizes farmers as plant breeders but does not provide incentive to innovate sustainably. Moreover, agricultural policies reinforced by an underlying discourse where “progressive” farmers follow unsustainable practices incentivizes formal innovations, at the expense of sustainable innovations of farmers.
{"title":"Supporting Sustainable Innovations: An Examination of India Farmer Agrobiodiversity Conservation","authors":"Natalie Kopytko","doi":"10.1177/1070496519870299","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1070496519870299","url":null,"abstract":"Critical to sustainable agriculture, agrobiodiversity conservation provides immediate benefits and retains options for climate change adaptation. Reframing conservation as sustainable seed innovation allows for a dynamic view of farmer contributions. Sustainable seed innovation entails in situ conservation and the innovation of new plant varieties through traditional practices. Farmer interviews from regions throughout India form the empirical basis, while the concept intellectual property-broad, integrated with evolutionary economics, informs theory. Sustainable seed innovation within India receives support primarily from nonprofit groups favoring open-source systems. Conserving natural and financial capital motivated farmers to adopt sustainable techniques, but farmers believed attracting additional innovators required development of new markets. India’s Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act recognizes farmers as plant breeders but does not provide incentive to innovate sustainably. Moreover, agricultural policies reinforced by an underlying discourse where “progressive” farmers follow unsustainable practices incentivizes formal innovations, at the expense of sustainable innovations of farmers.","PeriodicalId":47090,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environment & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2019-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1070496519870299","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46889439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-08-13DOI: 10.1177/1070496519867435
M. Fulton, A. Nurse, A. Plater
Small and medium enterprises and research institutes engaged on eco-innovative research projects are often required to account for environmental benefits of new products, processes, or services. This article describes an environmental assessment methodology for calculating auditable environmental benefits, highlighting case studies as examples. It addresses the challenges involved in conducting assessments of products that have yet to be commercialized by taking into account the quality and confidence of the data and enabling nonexperts to engage with the process to a well-informed level. The method draws on the most pertinent and accessible information to develop a reliable overview of the reportable outputs while minimizing the resource and expertise required by measuring only the change in circumstance. The process is flexible enough to cater to projects from a range of sectors, with different expertise levels, but in-depth enough to be considered an acceptable quantification of environmental outputs by rigid external reporting requirements.
{"title":"A Simplified Environmental Assessment Methodology for Research Projects as an Alternative to Life-Cycle Assessment","authors":"M. Fulton, A. Nurse, A. Plater","doi":"10.1177/1070496519867435","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1070496519867435","url":null,"abstract":"Small and medium enterprises and research institutes engaged on eco-innovative research projects are often required to account for environmental benefits of new products, processes, or services. This article describes an environmental assessment methodology for calculating auditable environmental benefits, highlighting case studies as examples. It addresses the challenges involved in conducting assessments of products that have yet to be commercialized by taking into account the quality and confidence of the data and enabling nonexperts to engage with the process to a well-informed level. The method draws on the most pertinent and accessible information to develop a reliable overview of the reportable outputs while minimizing the resource and expertise required by measuring only the change in circumstance. The process is flexible enough to cater to projects from a range of sectors, with different expertise levels, but in-depth enough to be considered an acceptable quantification of environmental outputs by rigid external reporting requirements.","PeriodicalId":47090,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environment & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2019-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1070496519867435","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45206174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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