A taxonomy of environmentally sustainable activities to orient Covid-19 tax measures to environmental objectives

Author(s):  
Sébastien Wolff
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1407
Author(s):  
Emma Moberg ◽  
Hanna Karlsson Potter ◽  
Amanda Wood ◽  
Per-Anders Hansson ◽  
Elin Röös

To reduce environmental burdens from the food system, a shift towards environmentally sustainable diets is needed. In this study, the environmental impacts of the Swedish diet were benchmarked relative to global environmental boundaries suggested by the EAT-Lancet Commission. To identify local environmental concerns not captured by the global boundaries, relationships between the global EAT-Lancet variables and the national Swedish Environmental Objectives (SEOs) were analysed and additional indicators for missing aspects were identified. The results showed that the environmental impacts caused by the average Swedish diet exceeded the global boundaries for greenhouse gas emissions, cropland use and application of nutrients by two- to more than four-fold when the boundaries were scaled to per capita level. With regard to biodiversity, the impacts caused by the Swedish diet transgressed the boundary by six-fold. For freshwater use, the diet performed well within the boundary. Comparison of global and local indicators revealed that the EAT-Lancet variables covered many aspects included in the SEOs, but that these global indicators are not always of sufficiently fine resolution to capture local aspects of environmental sustainability, such as eutrophication impacts. To consider aspects and impact categories included in the SEO but not currently covered by the EAT-Lancet variables, such as chemical pollution and acidification, additional indicators and boundaries are needed. This requires better inventory data on e.g., pesticide use and improved traceability for imported foods.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6460
Author(s):  
Caterina Lucarelli ◽  
Camilla Mazzoli ◽  
Michela Rancan ◽  
Sabrina Severini

In March 2020, the European Commission published the EU Taxonomy, a classification system of economic activities that can be considered environmentally sustainable. Motivated by this policy initiative, we propose a bibliometric analysis, based on the Web of Science database for the period January 1990–March 2020, regarding the extant scientific production related to the EU Taxonomy environmental objectives and macro-sectors. We find that a considerable number of scientific works—161,595 publications—have investigated Taxonomy-related areas, showing that the EU Taxonomy defined a working method, based on the cooperation among regulators, academics, and industry, representing a valuable example of evidence-based policy making. Furthermore, topic modelling analysis shows that extracted papers focused on improvements in production processes, innovation, and environmental performance. Thus, exploiting time and geographic patterns of the scientific publications, we perform a multivariate analysis to investigate its relationship with subsequent levels of pollution. Our evidence shows that, for the past, a higher level of EU Taxonomy-related publications is associated with a lower level of CO2 emissions, supporting the view that scientific production has a societal impact in terms of environmental sustainability. Accordingly, now that EU Taxonomy-related topics have been incorporated into policy measures, further positive environmental effects are expected from here on out.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-120
Author(s):  
Sandra Janković ◽  
Dubravka Krivačić

Purpose – Competitive environment and numerous stakeholders’ pressures are forcing hotels to comply their operations with the principles of sustainable development, especially in the field of environmental responsibility. Therefore, more and more of them incorporate environmental objectives in their business policies and strategies. The fulfilment of the environmental objectives requires the hotel to develop and implement environmentally sustainable business practices, as well as to implement reliable tools to assess environmental impact, of which environmental accounting and reporting are particularly emphasized. The purpose of this paper is to determine the development of hotel environmental accounting practices, based on previous research and literature review. Approach – This paper provides an overview of current research in the field of hotel environmental accounting and reporting, based on established knowledge about hotel environmental responsibility. The research has been done according to the review of articles in academic journals. Conclusions about the requirements for achieving hotel long-term sustainability have been drawn. Findings – Previous studies have shown that environmental accounting and reporting practice in hotel business is weaker when compared to other activities, and that most hotels still insufficiently use the abovementioned instruments of environmental management to reduce their environmental footprint and to improve their relationship with stakeholders. The paper draws conclusions about possible perspectives that environmental accounting has in ensuring hotel sustainability. Originality – The study provides insights into the problem of environmental responsibility of hotels, from the standpoint of environmental accounting and reporting, as tools for assessing hotel impact on the environment and for improving its environmentally sustainable business practice. The ideas for improving hotel environmental efficiency are shaped based on previous findings.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 1437-1457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashwin Ravikumar ◽  
Anne M Larson ◽  
Rodd Myers ◽  
Tim Trench

Policy makers, academics, and conservationists often posit that poor coordination between different land use sectors, and between levels of governance, as an underlying challenge for reducing deforestation and forest degradation. This paper analyzes this argument using data from interviews with over 500 respondents from government, nongovernmental organizations, private companies, local and indigenous communities, activists, and individuals involved in 35 diverse land use initiatives in three countries: Peru, Indonesia, and Mexico. We find that while there is strong evidence of widespread coordination failures between sectors and levels, more fundamental political issues preclude effective coordination. We argue that political coalitions act to oppose environmental objectives and to impede their opponents from participating in land use governance. Moreover, we find that where coordination between actors does occur, it does not necessarily produce environmentally sustainable and socially just land use outcomes. Where we do find successful initiatives to reduce deforestation and benefit local people, effective coordination between well-informed actors is often present, but it does not occur spontaneously, and is instead driven by political organizing over time by activists, local people, nongovernmental organizations, and international donors. We suggest that the global environmental community must recognize explicitly these political dimensions of land use governance in order to successfully collaborate with local people to reduce deforestation.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan T. Sutton ◽  
Kalavathy Rajan ◽  
David P. Harper ◽  
Stephen Chmely

Generating compatible and competitive materials that are environmentally sustainable and economically viable is paramount for the success of additive manufacturing using renewable materials. We report the successful application of renewable, modified lignin-containing photopolymer resins in a commercial stereolithography system. Resins were fabricated within operable ranges for viscosity and cure properties, using up to 15% modified lignin by weight with the potential for higher amounts. A four-fold increase in ductility in cured parts with higher lignin concentration is noted as compared to commercial SLA resins. Excellent print quality was seen in modified lignin resins, with good layer fusion, high surface definition, and visual clarity. These materials can be used to generate new products for additive manufacturing applications and help fill vacant material property spaces, where ductility, sustainability, and application costs are critical.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan T. Sutton ◽  
Kalavathy Rajan ◽  
David P. Harper ◽  
Stephen Chmely

Generating compatible and competitive materials that are environmentally sustainable and economically viable is paramount for the success of additive manufacturing using renewable materials. We report the successful application of renewable, modified lignin-containing photopolymer resins in a commercial stereolithography system. Resins were fabricated within operable ranges for viscosity and cure properties, using up to 15% modified lignin by weight with the potential for higher amounts. A four-fold increase in ductility in cured parts with higher lignin concentration is noted as compared to commercial SLA resins. Excellent print quality was seen in modified lignin resins, with good layer fusion, high surface definition, and visual clarity. These materials can be used to generate new products for additive manufacturing applications and help fill vacant material property spaces, where ductility, sustainability, and application costs are critical.


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