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751 results
Towards Departmental Stewardship Planning in the Saskatchewan Government
The report investigates stewardship planning for the Saskatchewan government, focusing on two modes of influence: internal operations (e.g., green procurement, energy use) and external influence (e.g., legislation and policy). It analyzes case studies from the United Kingdom, Canada, Manitoba, and Oregon, as well as corporate reporting frameworks like the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and PotashCorp. Key findings emphasize the need to integrate stewardship planning with existing budgeting and accountability frameworks to ensure effectiveness and organizational capacity.
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Document type: Report
Environmental Improvement Zones (EIZ): A Model for Engaging Winnipeg neighbourhoods in local action
The report outlines a proposed model for Environmental Improvement Zones (EIZs) in Winnipeg, designed to shift environmental action from a top-down municipal approach to a neighbourhood-level service delivery model. Based on a review of local precedents like Business Improvement Zones and international examples such as Montreal's Eco-quartiers, the report recommends that EIZs be established through multi-partite agreements between the City of Winnipeg, the Province of Manitoba, and Environment Canada. The proposed model suggests anchoring EIZs in existing community-based organizations, governed by neighbourhood steering committees, and focusing on service innovation and delivery rather than broad sustainability mandates. It provides a detailed implementation roadmap for 2005-2006, including the selection of five pilot neighbourhoods and the hiring of a dedicated coordinator.
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Document type: Report
A resource accounting tool for sustainable consumption
The report finds that the average Welsh resident's Ecological Footprint (EF) of 5.25 gha/cap is significantly higher than the global biocapacity of 1.8 gha/cap, implying that nearly three Earths would be needed if everyone lived like a Welsh resident. Food and drink consumption is the largest single component of the EF, while energy consumption is the primary driver of CO2 emissions. The study highlights a discrepancy between 'producer responsibility' (territorial emissions) and 'consumer responsibility' (emissions from consumption), noting that Wales carries an environmental burden for consumption occurring outside its borders. Sectoral analyses suggest that while organic farming and energy efficiency schemes offer some reductions, the most significant potential for lowering the EF lies in dietary changes, a shift toward renewable energy (particularly wind), and aggressive demand management in transport.
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Document type: Report
Non Governmental Organization’s Use of the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines for Sustainability Reporting
The report examines how the Center for Human Rights and Environment (CEDHA) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) adapted the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Guidelines, which were designed for businesses, for use in the non-profit sector. Both organizations found that while the Guidelines provided a valuable framework for establishing sustainability baselines and increasing staff awareness, they faced challenges with indicators tailored to resource-heavy industries and difficulties in collecting data within shared office spaces. The authors recommend that the GRI develop a specific 'CSO sector supplement' or 'service sector supplement' to better support non-profit reporting.
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Document type: Report
Sustainable Tourism in St. Lucia
The report evaluates the sustainability of St. Lucia's tourism sector under trade liberalization. While tourism is a primary driver of GDP and employment, the sector suffers from high foreign exchange leakage due to foreign ownership and package tours. Environmental concerns include rising energy consumption and wastewater mismanagement, while GATS obligations are identified as potential barriers to domestic regulatory autonomy.
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Document type: Report
Design for Health Summit for Massachusetts Health Care Decision Makers Report
The report outlines a framework for 'healthy design' in hospitals, arguing that sustainable architecture and engineered systems can reduce operating costs, improve clinical outcomes, and enhance staff retention. It provides a comprehensive set of recommendations for Massachusetts healthcare providers, ranging from regional collaborations and institutional policy changes to specific architectural and engineering interventions such as combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) systems and displacement ventilation. The document emphasizes the 'business case' for green building, citing evidence that such projects often have minimal capital cost premiums while offering significant life-cycle savings and health benefits.
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Document type: Report
Ülevaade Euroopa Liidu riikides läbi viidud rohelise maksureformi tulemustest
The report examines the shift of tax burdens from labour to consumption and natural resource use, known as Ecological Tax Reform (ETR). It analyzes how EU nations have used energy, transport, and pollution taxes to internalize environmental costs while maintaining economic competitiveness. The document highlights that successful ETRs often combine tax increases on pollutants with reductions in social security or income taxes, creating a 'double dividend' of environmental improvement and increased employment. Based on these international experiences, the report suggests that Estonia should phase out subsidies for its oil-shale energy sector, introduce carbon-based energy taxes, and implement differentiated vehicle taxes to stimulate resource efficiency and sustainable development.
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Document type: Report
Environment and Security: Transforming risks into cooperation
The report identifies critical environment and security risks in the Southern Caucasus, focusing on environmental degradation in conflict zones, cross-border resource management, and rapid urban growth in capital cities. It details national vulnerabilities in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, including Soviet industrial legacies, seismic risks, and water scarcity, while proposing a multi-pillar work programme for vulnerability assessment, policy development, and institutional capacity building.
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Document type: Report
E C O L O G I C A L S A N I T A T I O N
The document argues that conventional 'drop-and-store' and 'flush-and-discharge' sanitation systems are unsustainable due to water scarcity, pollution, and nutrient loss. It proposes ecological sanitation (eco-san) as a closed-loop system that treats human urine and faeces as resources. The guide details technical methods for sanitizing excreta—primarily through dehydration and decomposition—and provides diverse examples of eco-toilets from Vietnam, China, Zimbabwe, and Sweden. It emphasizes the agricultural value of recycled nutrients, the management of greywater, and the necessity of community participation and behavioral change for successful implementation. The document concludes with a vision for 'eco-cities' and 'eco-stations' to manage urban waste sustainably.
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Document type: Guide
frenar el gats!
Friends of the Earth International opposes the continuation of GATS negotiations, asserting that the agreement grants transnational corporations excessive rights at the expense of national environmental and social policies. The document highlights how GATS limits the right of governments to legislate, particularly regarding essential public services and natural resource management. It specifically warns that expanding GATS into energy, water, and tourism sectors could lead to irreversible ecological damage and the forced privatization of basic human needs. The organization demands the exclusion of public services and extractive industries from GATS disciplines and the implementation of strong environmental exemptions.
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Document type: Statement
The Economic Benefits of Greening
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) urges the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada to expand its definition of sustainability to include environmental impacts. The letter highlights that the health care system represents 10 percent of Canada's economy and has a large ecological footprint, primarily driven by energy consumption. To demonstrate the economic viability of 'greening', the document provides several case studies of Ontario hospitals that achieved substantial financial savings through energy conservation, co-generation, and waste management programs.
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Document type: Statement
Hòng tói Sñ chuyên minh: Hoát đöng va Thành qua cưa MMSD Bưc Mư
The MMSD North America project, implemented by the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the University of Nevada, developed a framework to transition the mining and minerals industry toward sustainability. The project produced several reports, including a set of 10 recommendations covering legacy issues, practical conditions, and long-term capacity building. It also introduced a 'Seven Questions' framework to assess the overall contribution of mining activities to long-term sustainable development.
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Document type: Guide
An Introduction to Green Building
The guide defines green building as a holistic approach to design and construction that optimizes the relationship between a building, its site, and the local climate to reduce resource use. It emphasizes that integrated design—where interdisciplinary teams collaborate early in the process—allows for the downsizing of mechanical systems and the reduction of both capital and operating costs. The text highlights the significant environmental impact of the built environment in the U.S. and suggests that existing technologies can drastically improve resource efficiency. Key strategies discussed include optimizing building orientation, improving the building envelope to manage heat transfer, utilizing daylighting and renewable energy, and implementing rigorous waste reduction and third-party commissioning practices.
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Document type: Guide
An environmentally sustainable health care system
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment argues that the health care system has a moral, professional, and economic responsibility to reduce its environmental impact, noting that the sector represents 10 percent of the Canadian economy.
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Document type: Statement
Critical Thinking for Sustainable Community Decision-Making
The document introduces a community leadership tool designed to improve decision-making by evaluating proposed actions against 15 sustainability factors. It emphasizes the need for diverse participant perspectives and impartial facilitation to ensure a comprehensive analysis of long-term, environmental, and social implications.
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Document type: Guide
Report on a Conference on International Trade and the Environment 9-10 April 1999, Hanoi
The report details a 1999 conference in Hanoi focused on Viet Nam's integration into the global economy via ASEAN, APEC, and the WTO. It identifies risks such as 'scale effects' leading to increased toxic waste and the potential import of 'cheap, inefficient technology'. The document argues for better policy coordination between ministries, the adoption of ISO 14000 environmental management standards to improve market access, and targeted support for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) facing capital and skill shortages.
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Document type: Report
IKEA and The Natural Step
The document details IKEA's transition toward environmental sustainability by adopting The Natural Step's scientific framework. It highlights specific initiatives such as the 'Trash Is Cash' waste reduction program, the elimination of chlorine bleach in catalogs, and the implementation of strict formaldehyde emission standards globally. The case also explores how IKEA's core values of frugality and cost-consciousness align with resource efficiency, and how the company manages its global supplier network to maintain these standards while keeping prices low.
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Document type: Case study
ALPHA MOTORS, LTD.: Integrating Life-Cycle Environmental Concerns into Product Design
The document describes Alpha Motors, Ltd., a subsidiary of Mobility Company, and its transition from focusing on manufacturing emissions to managing the entire life cycle of its products. It details the role of 'environmental champions' like Mike Barns in pushing for Design for Environment (DfE) and the use of life-cycle analysis (LCA) to inform design decisions. The case centers on a pilot project to select the material for the XL2000 hood assembly, comparing steel, aluminum, and SMC plastic using a spreadsheet tool based on the Swedish Environmental Product Strategies (EPS) system. The text outlines the five-step LCA process and the specific methodology of the EPS system, which converts environmental impacts into a single numerical value (Environmental Load Unit) based on economic valuation and risk factors.
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Document type: Case study
Eastman Kodak
In 1993, the Utilities Division at Kodak Park volunteered to implement a prevention-based environmental management strategy using the Council of Great Lakes Industries' TQEM matrix. By late 1995, the division reported significant improvements in environmental performance, including a reduction in high- and medium-severity incidents and a substantial decrease in the labor required to rectify audit findings. While direct cost savings were difficult to quantify initially, the shift toward proactive management was projected to reduce annual HS&E personnel costs by 25% by 1998 and 40% by 2000. The division's TQEM scores increased from baseline levels in the 100s to over 400 by 1995, a level considered sufficient to satisfy ISO 14000 requirements.
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Document type: Case study
DEJA SHOE (A)
Deja, Inc. was founded by Julie Lewis to create markets for recycled materials through footwear. Supported by former Nike and Avia executives and venture capital, the company developed shoes from recycled components, though it faced technical challenges with its initial polypropylene fabric. Targeting environmentally conscious consumers, particularly women aged 30-45 and Generation X, Deja entered the fragmented casual footwear market with a premium pricing strategy. Despite high production costs and a complex global supply chain involving material sourcing in North America, Europe, and Japan and assembly in Asia, the company gained significant traction with major retailers and green stores due to its innovative sustainable concept.
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Document type: Case study