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Hypercars: A Market-Oriented Approach to Meeting Lifecycle Environmental Goals
This research paper describes the 'hypercar' concept—an ultralight, hybrid-electric vehicle designed using a system-level optimization approach to minimize lifecycle environmental impacts without sacrificing consumer-valued features like performance and price.
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Document type: Research paper
ISO 14000 AND BUSINESS STRATEGY
This document is an annotated bibliography prepared for a 1996 conference in Beijing and the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development. It summarizes various reports, articles, and books concerning the ISO 14000 series of environmental management standards and their implications for business strategy, international trade, and regulatory shifts.
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Document type: Report
ECOLABELLING: ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR CHINA
This 1996 report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development analyzes the development and implications of China's national ecolabelling program. It details the program's structure, its role in reducing domestic environmental stress, and the potential for environmental labels to act as trade barriers for developing countries. The document evaluates the impact of foreign ecolabelling on Chinese exports—specifically in the textile and refrigerator sectors—and provides recommendations for strengthening China's program through increased transparency, the adoption of life-cycle analysis, and international cooperation to achieve mutual recognition of standards.
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Document type: Report
ULTRALIGHT-HYBRID VEHICLE DESIGN: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE RECYCLING INDUSTRY
This 1996 research paper examines the impact of 'hypercars'—ultralight vehicles using advanced composites and hybrid-electric drivesystems—on the recycling industry. While these vehicles offer significant fuel efficiency, emissions reductions, and manufacturing cost advantages, they threaten the economic viability of current recycling systems that rely on steel recovery. The authors propose a shift toward advanced recycling technologies like solvolysis and low-temperature catalytic pyrolysis to recover high-value carbon fibers and resins, suggesting that clean-sheet design for disassembly could ultimately increase overall automotive recyclability.
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Document type: Research paper
MOBIL CORPORATION
This teaching note describes a case study on how Fred Schoeneborn, a coordinator at Mobil Corporation, successfully implemented the Green Lights lighting retrofit initiative across a large organization despite lacking direct authority over facilities managers.
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Document type: Guide
A TOXIC INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP (TIP)
This case study describes a corporate crisis involving Treeton Chemical, a U.S.-based firm, and its Italian acquisition, Tossico Chemical. The venture, Treeton-Tossico, became the center of an international scandal after it was revealed that the company improperly exported 650 tons of toxic waste to Nigeria in 1987, leading to severe legal, financial, and reputational threats from the Italian government and European environmental coalitions.
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Document type: Case study
ACTE DE MONTEVIDEO
The Act of Montevideo, signed between May 12 and 14, 1992, establishes the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) as a regional network of research units to foster cooperation on global change research across the Americas.
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Document type: Statement
Profitably Stabilizing Global Climate
This editorial, published by the Rocky Mountain Institute, argues that stabilizing the global climate is not only possible but profitable through the application of advanced resource efficiency in energy, farming, and forestry. It contends that the costs of climate abatement are often overestimated by econometricians and that market failures, rather than a lack of cost-effective technology, prevent the widespread adoption of these solutions.
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Document type: Statement
AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING THE INTER-AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH
The 1992 Agreement Establishing the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research creates a regional network of cooperating research entities dedicated to studying the natural and human-induced alterations of the Earth system. The Institute focuses on interdisciplinary research, the exchange of scientific data, and providing information to governments to support public policy regarding global change.
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Document type: Statement
ACCORD RELATIF A LA CREATION D’UN INSTITUT INTERAMERICAIN DE RECHERCHES SUR LES CHANGEMENTS A L’ECHELLE DU GLOBE
The 1992 Agreement establishing the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) creates a regional network of research organizations dedicated to studying global-scale changes. The Institute focuses on interdisciplinary research across earth, ocean, atmospheric, environmental, and human sciences, with a specific emphasis on the Americas. It is governed by a Conference of Parties, an Executive Council, a Scientific Advisory Committee, and an Administrative Directorate.
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Document type: Statement
DECLARATION OF MONTEVIDEO
The Declaration of Montevideo, signed between 12-14 May 1992, establishes the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) as a regional network to coordinate scientific and economic research on global change in the Americas.
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Document type: Statement
DECLARACION DE MONTEVIDEO
The Declaration of Montevideo, signed between May 12 and 14, 1992, establishes the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) as an international instrument to promote scientific and economic research cooperation on global change across the Americas.
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Document type: Statement
The AES Corporation (A)
This case study describes the implementation of a reforestation project inSSS by The AES Corporation in Guatemala to offset carbon dioxide emissions from its Thames power plant, as well as the company's subsequent creation of a Sustainability Task Force to evaluate long-term fuel alternatives to coal.
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Document type: Case study
Building an Esprit Culture
This case study examines Esprit de Corp's efforts to integrate environmental sustainability into its business model through the creation of 'Ecollection,' a specialized women's clothing line. It details the company's transition from a high-growth 1980s fashion brand to one attempting to balance profitability with social and environmental responsibility, highlighting the technical and financial challenges of organic textile production and the complexities of marketing 'green' products to skeptical consumers.
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Document type: Case study
The Negawatt Revolution: Electric Efficiency and Asian Development
The research paper "The Negawatt Revolution: Electric Efficiency and Asian Development" argues that Asian development is hindered by the adoption of inefficient electrical equipment and a utility business model focused on increasing sales rather than customer satisfaction. The authors contrast this with a shift in the U.S. utility sector toward "negawatts"—saving electricity through efficiency and renewables—which is presented as a significantly cheaper and more sustainable alternative to building new power plants.
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Document type: Research paper
MAKING MARKETS IN RESOURCE EFFICIENCY
This 1989 research paper by Amory B. Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute argues for the creation of markets in resource efficiency to combat the economic tendency to treat natural resource depletion and pollution as free goods. Lovins proposes treating saved resources—such as 'negawatts' of electricity—as commodities that can be traded, auctioned, and hedged, providing a market-based alternative to regulatory mandates. He asserts that efficient technology is generally cheaper than producing new resources, creating a significant profit opportunity for those who sell efficiency rather than the resource itself.
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Document type: Research paper
Open Statement on NAFTA, Environment and Climate
An open statement by a coalition of environmental, health, labour, and faith organizations urging the Canadian government to address environmental failings during the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
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Document type: Statement
Document d’information : les pyréthrinoïdes, utilisés à la maison, mais non sans dangers
This fact sheet from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment details the risks associated with pyrethroids, synthetic insecticides used widely in domestic, veterinary, and agricultural settings. It examines their neurotoxic mode of action, pathways of human exposure—particularly for children—and their potential impacts on neurodevelopment, fertility, and the environment.
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Document type: Fact sheet
CAPE’s Position Statement on Synthetic Pesticides
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) issued this position statement advocating for the eventual abandonment of synthetic pesticides due to their toxicity, persistence in biological systems, and risks to human health, particularly for children and fetuses. The document outlines a transition toward sustainable growing practices and a more restrictive regulatory framework based on the precautionary principle.
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Document type: Statement
Avis d’objection à la décision de réévaluation RDV2017-01 sur le Glyphosate
This document is a formal statement of objection submitted by Louise Vandelac and Marie-Hélène Bacon on behalf of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. It challenges the decision RDV2017-01 by Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA/ARLA) to renew the registration of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) for approximately 15 years. The authors argue that the scientific basis for the decision is outdated, overly reliant on confidential industry data, and ignores recent independent research regarding human health, food contamination, and environmental impacts.
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Document type: Statement