Abstract

Management includes many components, among which we can include Management Systems (EMS), Reporting and Analysis, Information Systems and Communication. In this work two applications are presented: the developement and implementation of an Management in local administrations, according to the European scheme EMAS, and the analysis of a territorial energy system through scenario building and environmental sustainability assessment. Both applications are linked by the same objective, which is the quest for more scientifically sound elements; in fact, both EMS and energy planning are oftec carachterized by localism and poor comparability. Emergy synthesis, proposed by ecologist H.T. Odum and described in his book Environmental Accounting: Emergy and Decision Making (1996) has been chosen and applied as an environmental evaluation tool, in order complete the analysis with an assessment of the global value of goods and processes. In particular, eMergy syntesis has been applied in order to improve the evaluation of the significance of environmental aspects in an EMS, and in order to evaluate the environmental performance of three scenarios of future evolution of the energy system. Regarding EMS, in this work an application of an EMS together with the CLEAR methodology for environmental accounting is discussed, in order to improve the identification of the environmental aspects; data regarding environmental aspects and significant ones for 4 local authorities are also presented, together with a preliminary proposal for the integration of the assessment of the significance of environmental aspects with eMergy synthesis. Regarding the analysis of an energy system, in this work the carachterization of the current situation is presented together with the overall energy balance and the evaluation of the emissions of greenhouse gases; moreover, three scenarios of future evolution are described and discussed. The scenarios have been realized with the support of the LEAP software (Long Term Energy Alternatives Planning System by SEI - Stockholm Environment Institute). Finally, the eMergy synthesis of the current situation and of the three scenarios is shown.

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