Moving Beyond Environmental Compliance

Moving Beyond Environmental Compliance

Author: Thomas Elliott Welch

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2018-05-04

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1351430041

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Since the U.S. Department of Energy (as well as other Federal and International agencies) will stop granting contracts to companies that fail to comply with 14000 standards, the search is on for any book that will make 14000 compliance easier. Tom Welch, with more than 20 years experience in environmental engineering and project management, provides such a book! Moving Beyond Environmental Compliance: A Handbook for Integrating Pollution Prevention with ISO 14000 is the first text to combine the best aspects of Pollution Prevention (P2), Total Quality Management (TQM), and ISO 14000, into a comprehensive "how-to" guidebook for achieving environmental compliance. The ever-increasing cost of environmental compliance as it is passed onto consumers, cuts into the profit margin and reduces an organization's competitive edge. At the very least, compliance cuts into operating budgets, and directs attention away from the primary business of an organization. This handbook demystifies the implementation of effective environmental management systems as described in the ISO 14000, and clarifies the application of effective pollution prevention methodologies that can drastically reduce this compliance burden.


A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level

A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2020-10-14

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 030968076X

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Approximately 30 percent of the edible food produced in the United States is wasted and a significant portion of this waste occurs at the consumer level. Despite food's essential role as a source of nutrients and energy and its emotional and cultural importance, U.S. consumers waste an estimated average of 1 pound of food per person per day at home and in places where they buy and consume food away from home. Many factors contribute to this wasteâ€"consumers behaviors are shaped not only by individual and interpersonal factors but also by influences within the food system, such as policies, food marketing and the media. Some food waste is unavoidable, and there is substantial variation in how food waste and its impacts are defined and measured. But there is no doubt that the consequences of food waste are severe: the wasting of food is costly to consumers, depletes natural resources, and degrades the environment. In addition, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has severely strained the U.S. economy and sharply increased food insecurity, it is predicted that food waste will worsen in the short term because of both supply chain disruptions and the closures of food businesses that affect the way people eat and the types of food they can afford. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level identifies strategies for changing consumer behavior, considering interactions and feedbacks within the food system. It explores the reasons food is wasted in the United States, including the characteristics of the complex systems through which food is produced, marketed, and sold, as well as the many other interconnected influences on consumers' conscious and unconscious choices about purchasing, preparing, consuming, storing, and discarding food. This report presents a strategy for addressing the challenge of reducing food waste at the consumer level from a holistic, systems perspective.


Chemicals and Waste Governance Beyond 2020

Chemicals and Waste Governance Beyond 2020

Author: Honkonen, Tuula

Publisher: Nordic Council of Ministers

Published: 2017-01-04

Total Pages: 181

ISBN-13: 9289348402

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SAICM was established a decade ago as a voluntary approach to complement regulatory gaps to achieve sound management of chemicals by 2020. Despite significant actions taken since then, chemicals still pose a grave risk through the pollution of air, water, soil, and food. In 2015, an international process was set in motion to design a new global framework for sound management of chemicals and wastes. The new framework will replace SAICM and it is envisaged to be adopted in 2020. This report is the first attempt to analyse functions needed for effective chemicals and waste governance and to identify options for the institutional form in the post-2020 era. The report aims to increase understanding of reforms required to protect human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals and wastes, in light of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.


Build Beyond Zero

Build Beyond Zero

Author: Bruce King

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2022-06-16

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 164283212X

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“Net Zero” has been an effective rallying cry for the green building movement, signaling a goal of having every building generate at least as much energy as it uses. Enormous strides have been made in improving the performance of every type of new building, and even more importantly, renovating the vast and energy-inefficient collection of existing buildings in every country. If we can get every building to net-zero energy use in the next few decades, it will be a huge success, but it will not be enough. In Build Beyond Zero, carbon pioneers Bruce King and Chris Magwood re-envision buildings as one of our most practical and affordable climate solutions instead of leading drivers of climate change. They provide a snapshot of a beginning and map towards a carbon-smart built environment that acts as a CO2 filter. Professional engineers, designers, and developers are invited to imagine the very real potential for our built environment to be a site of net carbon storage, a massive drawdown pool that could help to heal our climate. The authors, with the help of other industry experts, show the importance of examining what components of an efficient building (from windows to solar photovoltaics) are made with, and how the supply chains deliver all those products and materials to a jobsite. Build Beyond Zero looks at the good and the bad of how we track carbon (Life Cycle Assessment), then takes a deep dive into materials (with a focus on steel and concrete) and biological architecture, and wraps up with education, policy and governance, circular economy, and where we go in the next three decades. In Build Beyond Zero, King and Magwood show how buildings are culprits but stand poised to act as climate healers. They offer an exciting vision of climate-friendly architecture, along with practical advice for professionals working to address the carbon footprint of our built environment.


Six Weeks to Zero Waste

Six Weeks to Zero Waste

Author: Kate Arnell

Publisher: Gaia

Published: 2020-01-02

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1856754324

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We are in the midst of a worldwide waste epidemic, where the average person in the UK throws away their own body weight in rubbish every seven weeks. The figure looks even worse at national level with the UK producing more than 100 million tonnes of waste every year. We all know the importance of reducing our environmental footprint, but the prospect of going green can seem daunting. Six Weeks to Zero Waste is both an accessible and aspirational programme to eliminate waste - and it goes beyond plastic. In this book, TV presenter turned eco blogger, Kate Arnell, will help you on your path to rubbish-free living, with the principles of the 5 Rs (refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot). From cutting down on food waste and decluttering, to making homemade health and beauty products, you'll soon be on your way to a zero-waste lifestyle.