With unequaled insight, business experts profile 12 outstanding, sustainable, small- to medium-sized enterprises and explain how their green strategies and methods have helped them succeed. A Simple Path to Sustainability: Green Business Strategies for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses is designed specifically to help smaller enterprises share in the benefits that flow from sustainability. Built around case histories showcasing 12 small to medium-size enterprises (SMEs) that have outstanding records of sustainability, this unique, hands-on guide will help readers choose and develop sustainability strategies and undertake the marketing and management initiatives necessary for success. The studies collected here detail each company's journey from initial idea through building a new culture, engaging stakeholders, gaining competitive advantage, and planning for the future. Each study also covers the challenges encountered, successes and failures, and lessons learned. Cases are centered around distinct themes, including a marketing/public relations perspective, a risk management perspective, an organizational culture perspective, and a new product development perspective. Taken as a whole, these stories do more than inform. They will inspire managers to become green entrepreneurs, undertaking sustainable strategies that can reap surprising benefits. Case histories of small to medium-size enterprises in industries from manufacturing to health care, banking/investing, and recycling detailing their journeys to sustainability and environmental stewardship A "Lessons Learned" box in each chapter Sidebars with tips and examples that can be used by any type of business A reference bibliography at the end of each chapter A glossary

This is a comprehensive handbook focused on geospatial applications used to study, assess, and monitor the Himalayan mountains. As a region of high relevance and very vulnerable regarding geohazards, it is crucial to detect landscape changes and understand the drivers behind the changes. With advanced remote sensing and GIS tools, in-depth analyses, and interdisciplinary approaches, the Handbook of Himalayan Ecosystems and Sustainability, Two Volume Set studies forest and agriculture ecosystems, urban sprawl and air pollution, geo and other hazards, and provides a breadth of data to support decision making and to aids in the preservation of the landscapes in a sustainable way. Features: Uses geospatial technology for studying fragile Himalayan ecosystems and their sustainability Includes 21 case studies from Indian Himalayan, Nepal, and Afghanistan regions Provides satellite data and geospatial modelling tools for assessing and monitoring all Himalayan landscapes Addresses cryospheric studies and related ongoing geohazards and potential climate change impacts Discusses ecology of the Himalayan rivers, biodiversity, and floristic shifting of endemic species, and landscape restoration

This book presents the spatial and temporal dynamics of land use and land cover in the central Tibetan Plateau during the last two decades, based on various types of satellite data, long-term field investigation and GIS techniques. Further, it demonstrates how remote sensing can be used to map and characterize land use, land cover and their dynamic processes in mountainous regions, and to monitor and model relevant biophysical parameters. The Tibetan Plateau, the highest and largest plateau on the Earth and well known as "the roof of the world," is a huge mountainous area on the Eurasian continent and covers millions of square kilometers, with an average elevation of over 4000 m. After providing an overview of the background and an introduction to land use and land cover change, the book analyzes the current land use status, dynamic changes and spatial distribution patterns of different land-use types in the study area, using various types of remotely sensed data, digital elevation models and GIS spatial analysis methods to do so. In turn, it discusses the main driving forces, based on the main physical environment variables and socioeconomic data, and provides a future scenario analysis of land use change using a Markov chain model. Given its scope, it provides a valuable reference guide for researchers, scientists and graduate students working on environmental change in mountainous regions around the globe, and for practitioners working at government and non-government agencies.

The earth is continuously changing and evolving yet it is unclear how environmental changes will affect us in years to come. What changes are inevitable? What changes, if any, are beneficial? And what can we do as citizens of this planet to protect it and our future generations?

Larry Slobodkin, one of the leading pioneers of modern ecology, offers compelling answers to these questions in A Citizen's Guide to Ecology. He provides many insights into ecology and the processes that keep the world functioning. This important guide introduces observations that underlie arguments about all aspects of the natural environment--including both global and local issues. To clarify difficult concepts, Slobodkin uses lake, ocean, and terrestrial ecosystems to explain ecological energy flows and relationships on a global scale.

The book presents a clear and current understanding of the ecological world, and how individual citizens can participate in practical decisions on ecological issues. It tackles such issues as global warming, ecology and health, organic farming, species extinction and adaptation, and endangered species.

An excellent introduction and overview, A Citizen's Guide to Ecology helps us to understand what steps we as humans can take to keep our planet habitable for generations to come.

"This beautifully written book brings together careful observation, personal reflection, and theoretical understanding to explain the major environmental problems that confront us. Dr. Slobodkin's superb and sweeping work invites us to contemplate a great many facts and a few large values to motivate a clear and compelling response to losses of biodiversity, the problem of invasive species, global warming, and other environmental concerns."--Mark Sagoff, School of Public Affairs, University of Maryland

Biodiversity and Evolution includes chapters devoted to the evolution and biodiversity of organisms at the molecular level, based on the study of natural collections from the Museum of Natural History. The book starts with an epistemological and historical introduction and ends with a critical overview of the Anthropocene epoch.

'Stefan Weishaar brought an excellent group of authors together in this book, reflecting on key developments for the green market transition! Happy to read so many refreshing contributions on carbon taxes, energy subsidies and smart instrument mixes.' - Kurt Deketelaere, University of Leuven, Belgium The Paris Agreement on climate change constitutes an important milestone in international climate negotiations. Its key objective is the strengthening of the global response to climate change by transitioning the world to an increasingly green economy. In this book, environmental tax and climate law experts address the various issues surrounding green market transitions. Key chapters examine carbon taxes and systems of implementation, energy subsidies, and support schemes for carbon and energy policies. Using a multitude of international case studies, several contributing authors reflect on the underlying policy dynamics and the constraints of various fiscal measures. In addition, this timely work considers the important issue of smart instrument mixes, going beyond instrument choice to examine how they can work in harmony together. Astute and engaging, this book is a vital companion for students and scholars in environmental law, economics and sustainability. Its practical approach also renders it an excellent guide for policy makers and those involved in fiscal reform and green market transition. Contributors include: M. Alsina Pujols, B. Bahn-Walkowiak, P. Castro, M. Distelkamp, N. Droste, E. Fonseca Capdevila, C. Fruhmann, S. Giorgi, A. Grossmann, M. Hasenheit, A. Illes, T. Kawakatsu, C. Kettner, M. Kettunen, D. Kletzan-Slamanig, N. Kreibich, L. Kreiser, V. Kulmer, A. Lerch, C. Lutz, M. Machingambi, M. Meyer, J.E. Milne, I. Ring, S. Rudolph, R. Santos, S. Seebauer, H. Sprohge, L.-A. Steenkamp, C. Stroia, I. Taranic, P. ten Brink, A. Tuerk, S. Van Outryve d'Ydewalle, R. Vasileios, M. Villar Ezcurra, H. Wang-Helmreich, H. Wilts, S. Wolff, G. Woltjer, M. Zahno

NEXT GENERATION BIOMONITORING: Part 1, Volume 58, the latest release in the Advances in Ecological Research series, is the firstpart of a thematic on ecological biomonitoring, including specific chapters that cover Aquatic volatile metabolomics - using trace gases to examine ecological processes, Next generation approaches to rapid monitoring Bio-aerosol and the link between human health and environmental microbiology, NGB in Canadian wetlands, Monitoring the biodiversity and functioning of terrestrial systems via high resolution trace gas fluxes, and Computational approaches to gathering biomonitoring data from social media platforms: a superior solution to next generation biomonitoring challenges.

This book provides transdisciplinary analyses of the automotive plastics production and recycling system, including prognoses, scenarios and solutions for corporate sustainability management. A book on plastics, not written by a plastics guy. But a sustainability guy. Plastics schizophrenia and the automotive abyss: The industry is facing a severe challenge. It is the inevitable and promising change towards a sustainable economy. However, the automotive industry is primarily concerned with the CO2 emissions from cars when driving, while the rise of lightweight plastics, electric drive and heavy batteries make the production and end-of-life phase ever more important. Therefore, the currently increasing use of non-sustainable virgin plastics in cars has to be tackled. The plastics and the automotive industry now have a chance, and this chance is the Recycling Renaissance. This book offers: * Holistic and transdisciplinary overview on sustainability and automotive plastics from all angles including economy, ecology, technology, and politics with a focus on Europe * Concise analyses, prognoses, tools and a roadmap with solutions for companies, developed together with international experts from industry and academia * Strong scientific basis and independent research including a Europe-wide survey, expert interviews, and workshops * More than 80 illustrations and 15 tables including a SCOT analysis * Executive summaries after each chapter for fast reading "The uniqueness of this book lies within the different point of view on this topic from a critical, outstanding scientist." - Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.mont. Pomberger, Montanuni Leoben

Advice involves immediate 'rapid-response' actions to initiate containment along with preventative strategies, measures for control and monitoring requirements post-control. The manual responds to the GB Non-Native Species Strategy and deals with over 40 species which have been selected from plants listed in Schedule 9 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) for the UK; invasive alien species of EU concern (as per EU IAS Regulation 1143/2014); and other noteworthy species of the urban environment, for example butterfly-bush (buddleia). Each species account includes: a brief description on ecology and identification with corresponding photographs; a distribution map for the British and Irish Isles; immediate actions that can be taken once identified; pathways of spread; lifespan; seed-production age; seed longevity; growth rate; a 'schematic' of the life-cycle aimed at assisting the determination of schedules for survey and treatment; prevention and rapid-response measures; tables of control, management and herbicide treatment linked to decision-making flow diagrams; waste-disposal requirements; revegetation post-management; and continued monitoring. Key references to published data and links to appropriate websites are also included.

Pollution reduction attempts, without consideration of costs and benefits, are likely to destroy stock market values of corporations. Companies are faced with a plethora of alternatives to reduce pollution as pollution control moves from command-and-control to market-based regulations. This book offers new insights into implementing environmental programs in companies of any size. The reader is walked through all phases of an environmental management program, including self-evaluation, product and process evaluation, environmental reporting, product labeling, environmental auditing, industry standards, environmental performance metrics, environmental accounting, and total quality environmental management tools. ISO 14000 standards applicable to various phases of environmental management systems are described in detail. This book explains in-depth how to initiate, develop, and implement environmental programs in a total quality management framework and integrate environmental factors in critical corporate decisions. This work, written primarily for practicing managers, should also be of interest to scholars and students in business management.

Chemistry is considered to be one of the prime causes of environmental pollution and degradation. The United Nations General Assembly also addressed the environmental challenges in its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have been adopted in 2015. A closer look shows that to meet these goals chemistry will play an important role. Green chemistry encompasses design and synthesis of environmentally benign chemical processes, green approaches to minimize and/or remediate environmental pollution, the development of biomaterials, biofuel, and bioenergy production, biocatalysis, and policies and ethics in green chemistry. When products in use today become waste, we need to treat that waste so that hazardous substances are not re-circulated into new products. In this context, circular economy is also an important point of discussion, which focuses on recycling, reuse and use of renewable sources. The theme of the International Conference on "Green Chemistry in Environmental Sustainability & Chemical Education (ICGC-2016) held in Delhi from 17-18 November 2016 was to discuss the emerging green trends in the direction of sustainability and environmental safety. ICGC-2016 consisted of keynote, plenary and invited lectures, panel discussion, contributed oral papers and poster presentations. The conference provided a platform for high school students, undergraduate and postgraduate students, teaching fraternity and young researchers to interact with eminent scientists and academicians from all over the world who shared their valuable views, experience and research on the harmonious methods in chemistry for a sustainable environment. This volume of proceedings from the conference provides an opportunity for readers to engage with a selection of refereed papers that were presented during the ICGC-2016 conference. The overarching goal of this book is to discuss most recent innovations and concerns in green chemistry as well as practical challenges encountered and solutions adopted to remediate a scathed environment into a pristine one. It includes an extensive variety of contributions from participants of ICGC-2016 that demonstrate the importance of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to problem solving within green chemistry and environmental management. The proceedings is thus a green chemistry monograph resulting from the fruitful deliberations in the conference, which will deeply enhance awareness about our responsibility towards the environment.

This Handbook strives to enhance knowledge and application within sustainability in management education (SiME) across different academic programs, geographic regions and personal/professional contexts. Cross-disciplinary and boundary spanning, this book focuses on specific themes and is therefore split into four distinct sections: one on theory and practice, one on transformational interventions in business programs, one on the role of external agents and the last on innovative approaches in SiME. The co-editors expertly provide a roadmap for sustainability in management education while discussing key implications, applications and utilities that explore motivations and project possible outcomes for advances and integration of SiME. In addition to identifying new discursive strategies in SiME research, the co-editors provide a critical narrative and discussion on newly identified commonalities and connections within the Handbook's chapters. This content assessment highlights prevalent intersections for advancing, challenging, and questioning how to implement SiME in various programs. Management scholars, researchers, educators and practitioners as well as current, emerging and future leaders in various academic and private sectors will find this Handbook invaluable. It will serve as a key reference for more advanced studies in this rapidly developing field. Contributors include: F. Ahen, M. Albert, J.A. Arevalo, K.R. Bandyopadhyay, L. Barin Cruz, R.G. Bell, S. Benn, M. Bidart Carneiro de Novaes, N. Boyd, J. Bressler, M. Brueckner, J. Brunstein, T. Bunn Hiller, N. Christopher, M. Edwards, Q. Evansluong, D. Fodness, C.J. Fox, A. Girardi, T.A. Hart, J.R. Hendry, S. Husig, P.R. Jacobi, Y. Jakobcic, S. Klomp, J. Korstad, L. Krzykowski, R. Mahajan, S.L. Manring, E. Martin, E. Meliou, P. Miesing, R. Miller, S.F. Mitchell, E.E. Nill, F.S. Nobre, E.E. Nordman, M. Paull, M. Pozzebon, M. Ramirez Pasillas, E. Raufflet, E. Rich, A.J. Richardson, I. Rimanoczy, M.F. Sambiase, P. Schmitt Figueiro, S. Schutel, C.A. Simmers, S. Soderstrom, R. Spencer, R. Sroufe, M. Starik, A. Sulkowski, D. Vazquez-Brust, A. Vidal da Silva Martins, J.L. Whittington, J. Williams, L.T. Wong, N. Yakovleva

Water Policy Science and Politics: An Indian Perspective presents the importance of politics and science working together in policymaking in the water sector. Many countries around the developed and developing world, including India, are experiencing major water scarcity problems that will undoubtedly increase with the impacts of climate change. This book discusses specific topics in India's water, agriculture and energy sectors, focusing on scientific aspects, academic and political discourse, and policy issues. The author presents cases from the interrelated sectors of water resources, supplies, sanitation, and energy and climate, including controversial topics that illustrate how science and politics can work together.

With energy consumption rising and with it our dependence on crude oil from politically uncertain regions, and faced with the threat to the environment from polluting emissions, it is becoming ever more evident that fuels from renewable resources are an increasingly attractive option to fossil fuels. Edinger and Kaul, like a growing number of other experts, hold the mobility of populations--transportation, in other words--responsposible for the rise in the rate of greenhouse gas emissions, a condition that can only get worse as less developed regions of the world emerge with their own needs and demands for mobility. What to do? Edinger and Kaul outline in sharp detail the shortcomings of current vehicular technologies and dominant fossil fuels. They present a careful, authoritative examination of innovative technologies that in their opinion have the best chance of combating dangerous reliance on conventional means of power, not only for transportation but other purposes as well. And they focus on special forms of fuel cell drive systems, with their high efficiencies and reduced consumptions, and on other emerging renewable technologies and their innovative, sustainable power sources--such as fuels from biomass and renewable electricity, a particularly promising source of energy for newly growing economies. Wide ranging in coverage, forthright in style, the book is an important review of how things are today, why they could get worse, but perhaps most importantly, what we can do about it.

This book presents a state-of-the-art analysis of energy efficiency as applied to mining processes. From ground fragmentation to mineral processing and extractive metallurgy, experts discuss the current state of knowledge and the nagging questions that call for further research. It offers an excellent resource for all mine managers and engineers who want to improve energy efficiency to boost both production efficiency and sustainability. It will also benefit graduate students and experienced researchers looking for a comprehensive review of the current state of knowledge concerning energy efficiency in the minerals industry.

This book systematically introduces readers to the framework of China's ETS pilots, exploring their design and operating process, the current state of the carbon market, and various barriers encountered. To do so, it deconstructs the Guangdong ETS, which is the largest and most representative of China's seven ETS pilots. The book subsequently describes and evaluates all seven pilots in terms of their efficiency, macro and micro effects, the method involved in the DEA model, the CGE model, and cost-benefit analysis. In turn, in the assessment section it demonstrates how some ETS pilots have failed to control carbon emissions due to inordinately high emissions quotas issued by the local government etc. Further, it argues that ETS should focus on those industries with large emissions and high mitigating potential for the time being, and then gradually expand the scale of its coverage. As China's national ETS is slated for launch on the basis of the lessons learned from the ETS pilots, the book offers a timely and valuable resource for all those who want to understand and forecast the development of China's ETS. It includes a wealth of descriptions and explanations of Chinese government policies involving carbon emissions control, making it a unique resource.

In his Ark of the Broken Covenant, Kunich showed that Earth's species are concentrated in 25 zones of ecological significance known as biodiversity hotspots, and maintained that we'd go a long way toward saving many species from extinction if we'd focus our protective laws and regulations on these zones. In Killing Our Oceans he extends this analysis to the extraordinary pockets of life in the oceans that are similarly threatened. In his Ark of the Broken Covenant, Kunich showed that Earth's species are concentrated in 25 zones of ecological significance known as biodiversity hotspots, and that we'd go a long way toward saving many species from extinction if we'd focus our protective laws and regulations on these zones. In Killing Our Oceans he extends this analysis to the extraordinary pockets of life in the oceans that are similarly threatened. From coral reefs to recently discovered hydrothermal vents, the oceans contain vast numbers of endangered species. We are rapidly losing these unique, irreplaceable treasures, due in part to an appalling lack of efficacious safeguards. What's in it for us if we intervene to halt this mass extinction? Quite possibly the greatest medical, nutritional, and scientific breakthroughs in all of human history, just waiting to be discovered and harnessed-or forever lost along with the dying species that hold the keys to these secrets. Kunich examines in detail the applicable international laws as well as domestic laws of the nations with key marine resources, and demonstrates the abject failure of these measures to prevent or halt a mass extinction in our oceans. He concludes with a set of legal proposals that could start us down the road to preserving the marine hotspots and, with them, most of Earth's biodiversity. Legal solutions are not the only answer, but they are a beginning.

This book focuses on managing risks and building resilience to climate change, showcasing experiences from research, field projects and best practices to foster climate change adaptation in Eastern Europe that can be implemented elsewhere. Climate change affects countries in Eastern Europe, i.e. the Western Balkans and Southeast Europe in a variety of ways. Apart from severe floods, there are reports of decreasing water reserves in the southern regions, and of gradual changes in biodiversity and agricultural production. In the South Caucasus area, for instance, climate change models project a decline in precipitation and suggest that it will continue to become drier this century. Many Eastern European countries, especially the non-EU ones, have weak national climate policies, and transboundary collaborations, as well as limited public engagement in matters related to climate change. As a result, climate change poses a serious threat to their economic stability and development and to the sustainable development of the region. The above state of affairs illustrates the need for a better understanding of how climate change influences Eastern Europe, and for the identification of processes, methods and tools that may help the countries and the communities in the region to adapt. There is also a perceived need to showcase successful examples of how to cope with the social, economic and political problems posed by floods/droughts in the region, especially ways of increasing the resilience of agriculture systems and of communities. Addressing this need, the book presents papers written by scholars, social practitioners and members of government agencies involved in research and/or climate change projects in Eastern Europe.