Positive Environmental Outcomes Research Articles

Animal as the Solution: Searching for Environmentally Friendly Dairy Cows

There is increasing societal concern surrounding the environmental externalities generated from ruminant production systems. Traditional responses to address these externalities have often been system-based. While these approaches have had promising results, they have served to view the animal as a problem that needs solving, rather than as a potential solution. This review attempts to answer the question: can we breed animals that are more environmentally friendly to address environmental outcomes and satisfy consumer demand? This was done by exploring the literature of examples where animals have been specifically bred to reduce their environmental impact. The use of milk urea nitrogen breeding values has been demonstrated as a tool allowing for selective breeding of dairy cows to reduce nitrogen losses. Low milk urea nitrogen breeding values have been documented to result in reduced urinary nitrogen concentrations per urination event, which ultimately reduces the level of nitrogen that will be lost from the system. The ability to breed for low methane emissions has also shown positive results, with several studies demonstrating the heritability and subsequent reductions in methane emissions via selective breeding programs. Several avenues also exist where animals can be selectively bred to increase the nutrient density of their final product, and thus help to address the growing demand for nutrient-dense food for a growing human population. Animal-based solutions are permanent, cumulative, and often more cost-effective than system-based approaches. With continuing research and interest in breeding for more positive environmental outcomes, the animal can now start to be viewed as a potential solution to many of the issues faced by ruminant production systems, rather than simply being seen as a problem.

Pastoral Agriculture in the Post-industrial Age: Building Functional Integrity and Realising Potential

The potential of pastoral land use to create positive environmental, economic, and social outcomes is constrained by a “way of seeing” land and people through the eyes of Modernity and mechanical determinism. That ontology of land is compounded and reinforced by positivism, and the associated hierarchical and dis-integrated epistemology around the culture:nature nexus – including what is seen as “objective” science and technology driving practise. Both the ontology and epistemology of our Modern land use culture drive a reduction of ethics, relationship, and meaning to the measured utility of either production or dollars within a “resource sufficiency” view of the land factory. The consequence is not just the non-realisation of potential synergies and multiple functions underpinning value and resilience within the socio-ecological systems associated with pastoral land. It also degrades the “functional integrity” of those integrated systems and increases the fragility and multiple negative outcomes to local economic, environmental, and social functions. This study examines the underlying philosophical thoughtscapes of Modern agri-business models and contrasts those models with the emerging alternatives: from reducible universally-quantifiable machines to post-industrial thought; including post-normal science, integrated complex adaptive systems, and emerging work shifting homogeneous “economies of scale” industrialism to realising potential “economies of scope” by building functional and self-organising systems. It further examines the potential scope to be gained using three specific examples: multi-functional integrated landscapes, resilience theory specific to drought, and market value chains.

Environmental Regulation of Agriculture in Federal Systems of Government: The Case of Australia

The regulation of environmental impacts from agriculture can take place at various scales. In some nations, with federal systems of government, the multiscale nature of regulatory interventions can be confusing for farmers, not to mention costly and time-consuming to navigate. Regulatory overlap contributes to inefficiency and wastage in governance efforts, reduced trust in government action and can preclude positive environmental outcomes across the landscape. In this article, we explore how Australia’s national-level law has been applied to agricultural land use. We canvas the concepts of regulatory complexity and ambiguity, and argue for a more integrated and flexible policy mix that rewards positive behaviour and stewardship of natural capital. This model would provide financial and other personal gains for those who can demonstrate objectives are being met. Further empirical research on fine-tuning that policy mix, again across scale, is warranted.

Synergies and trade-offs among integrated conservation approaches in Mexico.

Integrated conservation approaches (ICAs) are employed by governments, communities, and nongovernmental organizations worldwide seeking to achieve outcomes with dual benefits for biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation. Although ICAs are frequently implemented concurrently, interactions among ICAs and the synergies or trade-offs that result are rarely considered during program design, implementation, and evaluation. In support of more deliberate and effective use of ICAs, we examined interactions among four well-known strategies: biosphere reserves (BRs), voluntary protected areas (VPAs), payments for ecosystem services (PES), and community forest management (CFM). Through a comparative case study, we analyzed interactions among spatially or temporally clustered ICAs implemented on communally held and managed lands in three ecologically and socioeconomically distinct regions of Mexico. Our research methods combined policy analysis with data gathered through participant observation and semistructured interviews (n = 78) and focus groups (n = 5) with government officials, implementers, and participants involved in ICAs in 28 communities. Despite the significant differences among the regions in which they were implemented, we found that key actors at each level of involvement generally perceived interactions among ICAs as synergistic. The PES programs were perceived to strengthen protected areas by reducing forest cover loss in and around BRs, fostering proconservation attitudes, and incentivizing the establishment of VPAs. Communities that invested PES income in CFM were motivated to conserve forests beyond the duration of PES programs, and CFM in buffer zones was perceived to strengthen BRs by maintaining forest cover and generating income for communities. We also identified key social and environmental factors that can influence these interaction effects among ICAs. Based on these findings, we recommend further study of ICA interactions and intentionally complementary policy design to maximize positive environmental and social outcomes.

Nutrition and origin of US chain restaurant seafood

ABSTRACTBackgroundSeafood has a nutritional profile that can be beneficial to human health, which gives it a role to play in healthy diets. In addition, because its production and harvesting can have fewer environmental impacts than some forms of animal protein, it can contribute to sustainable diets. However, the positive health and environmental outcomes are not guaranteed—they depend on how seafood is prepared and served and whether it is sourced from sustainable fisheries and aquaculture industries.ObjectivesWe examined the availability and nutritional attributes of seafood meals at chain restaurants in the United States. We assessed nutritional attributes by store type and geography. We also assessed menu labeling for species, production methods, and origin.MethodsThe study population was 159 chain restaurants with 100,948 branch locations in the United States. Data were harvested from online restaurant menus, and the nutritional profile of seafood meals was calculated.ResultsThe average seafood menu item provides up to 49–61% of the total daily limit of saturated fat, 65% of the total daily limit of sodium, and 58–71% of total daily protein requirement for adult men and women. Restaurant chains located in the Deep South and Ohio River Valley, and casual dining chains nationally, carry seafood meals with more total calories and saturated fat per 100 g than other regions or chain types. Most menu items did not list origin or production methods, which is information that would help consumers make informed decisions.ConclusionsThe added ingredients and cooking methods used at chain restaurants can attenuate the health benefits of seafood. We recommend reformulating menus to reduce portion sizes, total calories, added fat, and sodium content per meal and to improve consumer-facing information about origin and production methods.

Design of sustainable dryland crop rotations require value judgements and efficient trade-offs

In agriculture, sustainability is framed as an aspiration to achieve multiple goals including positive production, environmental and social outcomes. These aspirations include: increasing production of nutritious food; minimising risk and maximising resilience in response to climate variability, fluctuating markets and extreme weather events; minimising impacts on global warming by reducing emissions; efficiently using limited resources; minimising negative on-site and off-site impacts; preserving biodiversity on farm and in nature; and achieving positive social outcomes reflected in farmers’ incomes (revenue and profit). Here we used cropping systems simulation to assess multiple (11) sustainability indicators for 26 crop rotations to quantify their sustainability throughout Australia’s subtropical cropping zone. Results were first expressed via a series of maps quantifying the minimal environmental impacts of attributes such as N applied, N leached, runoff and GHG emissions of the 26 crop rotations while identifying the locations of the optimal rotation for each attribute. Inspection of these maps showed that different rotations were optimal, depending on both location and the attribute mapped. This observation demonstrated that an 11-way sustainability win-win across all attributes was not likely to happen anywhere in the cropping zone. However, rotations that minimised environmental impacts were often among the more profitable rotations. A more holistic visualisation of the sustainability of six contrasting sites, using sustainability polygons, confirmed that trade-offs between sustainability indicators are required and highlighted that cropping in different sites is inherently more or less sustainable, regardless of the rotations used. Given that trade-offs between the various sustainability attributes of crop rotations are unavoidable, we plotted trade-off charts to identify which rotations offer an efficient trade-off between profit and other sustainability indicators. We propose that these maps, sustainability polygons and trade-off charts can serve as boundary objects for discussions between stakeholders interested in achieving the sustainable intensification of cropping systems.

Selection of Industrial Trade Waste Resource Recovery Technologies—A Systematic Review

Industrial wastewater and other trade wastes are often sources of pollution which can cause environmental damage. However, resource recovery approaches have the potential to lead to positive environmental outcomes, profits, and new sources of finite commodities. Information on these waste sources, and the valuable components which may be contained in such waste is increasingly being made available by public, academic and commercial stakeholders (including companies active in meat processing, dairy, brewing, textile and other sectors). Utilising academic and industry literature, this review evaluates several methods of resource recovery (e.g., bioreactors, membrane technologies, and traditional chemical processes) and their advantages and disadvantages in a trade waste setting. This review lays the groundwork for classification of waste and resource recovery technologies, in order to inform process choices, which may lead to wider commercial application of these technologies. Although each waste source and recovery process is unique, membrane bioreactors show promise for a wide range of resource recovery applications. Despite interest, uptake of resource recovery technologies remains low, or not widely championed. For this to change, knowledge needs to increase in several key areas including: availabilities and classification of trade wastes, technology choice processes, and industrial viability.

Achieving Sustainable Procurement in Construction Projects: The Pivotal Role of a Project Management Office

Environmental and ecological impacts associated with construction activities have become an ever-increasing concern, especially the considerable amount of waste generated on construction sites. Regulations and growing client pressure on meeting environmental standards have led contractors to adopt sustainable practices and try to embed this concept in their processes. Sustainable procurement management (SPM) as a potential solution takes the environmental consequences of procurement decisions into account and integrates sustainable practices into project procurement to bring positive environmental outcomes. Previous research has mainly focused on the public sector in achieving green procurement, yet this study attempts to highlight internal capacities that help private organisations manage the requirements associated with practicing sustainability. It is theorised that robust management structures, specifically project management offices (PMOs), would enhance the oversight capabilities of contractors in implementing the SPM process. The objectives of the current study are to (1) identify the requirements of a sustainable project procurement process in construction sites based on a literature review, and (2) explore the facilitative role of PMO units in achieving these requirements in the private sector. A literature review was conducted followed by a qualitative survey to solicit the viewpoints of construction professionals in principle contracting firms. As a result of the study, we identified 17 sustainability requirements and found that PMOs boost collaboration and improve the quality of decision making towards sustainable procurement. The findings (1) explain how PMOs support sustainability, (2) provide insights on implementing sustainable practices in project purchases, and (3) improve theoretical understanding of the SPM principles.

Inovação e sustentabilidade: a postura inovadora das cooperativas agropecuárias atuantes na Região Sul do Brasil

Ao conceber a sustentabilidade dos negócios como uma contribuição efetiva para o desenvolvimento sustentável, as inovações passam a ter outros critérios de avaliação além daqueles convencionais, onde as inovações devem gerar resultados econômicos, sociais e ambientais positivos, de forma simultânea atendendo a todas as partes interessadas. A partir destas concepções, este estudo teve como objetivo caracterizar as cooperativas agropecuárias atuantes na região sul do Brasil em função de sua postura inovadora tanto em produtos quanto em processos, considerando as dimensões da sustentabilidade. Como procedimentos metodológicos, fez-se uso da abordagem quantitativa de pesquisa, com o desenvolvimento de um survey cross-sectional com uma amostra de 93 cooperativas agropecuárias. A partir do levantamento junto a 38,7% do universo de cooperativas agropecuárias atuantes na Região Sul do Brasil, definiu-se uma taxonomia composta por quatro clusters, inferindo que há uma diferença no foco para a inovação em produtos e processos. Os resultados demonstraram também que há diferença entre os clusters quando consideradas as dimensões econômica, ambiental e social.

How the Structure of Benefits for Sustainably Raised Seafood May Differ in the USA: Implications for Wider Market Adoption

Not only does sustainably raised seafood play a role in meeting the world’s growing need for protein, but it can also do this in an environmentally and socially responsible way. Even though the United States is one of the largest consumer markets in the world, it has lower adoption of sustainably raised seafood. The purpose of this study is to explore U.S. consumer attitudes toward and motivations behind adopting sustainably raised seafood. Focus groups are used to qualitatively explore what benefits U.S. consumers prioritize when considering sustainably raised seafood. The study finds that group participants prioritize self-oriented, product quality and safety benefits over others-oriented, environmental and social benefits. Contributions to learning include a potentially expanded set of benefits, new relationships amongst them, and new consumer rationale. Practitioners can use this learning to alter their presentation of sustainably raised seafood to the U.S. marketplace to increase adoption and achieve positive environmental and social outcomes.

Education as a medium for strengthening positive environmental outcomes and sustainable choices among youth

Education as a medium for strengthening positive environmental outcomes and sustainable choices among youth

GREEN HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT: LINKING AND USING GREEN PRACTICES FOR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS

Green human resource management (HRM) is an emerging topic in today's society. The earth's natural resources are coming under increasing pressure and resulting in over-consumption, which is leading to an alarming situation for the environment and business. As a result, it is increasingly necessary for business organizations to implement formal environmental initiatives. Green HRM is an emerging concept that gives meaning to HRM activities that enhance positive environmental outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to study the concept of Green HRM in more comprehensive manner. Research objective: to explore most relevant green human resource management practices of business organizations. Research methods: This study is totally based on secondary data collected from different sources - Books, Journals, Research Papers and other. Results: This paper has analyzed the literature on Green HRM practices from the existing literature of HR theory and practice. The key findings have identified and highlighted several green HRM practices such as green recruitment, selection, hiring; learning, training and development; performance management and appraisals; total reward system and other practices. Finally, the paper proposes some research agenda for the future research.

Towards sustainable urban food systems: Analyzing contextual and intrapsychic drivers of growing food in small-scale urban agriculture.

Small-scale urban agriculture is associated with positive health and environmental outcomes. Previous studies examined factors that drive people to grow foods in urban areas mainly drawing on qualitative data. This research investigates quantitatively what determines consumer preferences for growing foods in community gardens, informing efforts to upscale urban agriculture. We conducted choice experiments in North America and performed latent class analysis of contextual and intrapsychic factors affecting consumers’ preferences for growing foods in cities. Results show that providing tools and guidance are the most important contextual factors affecting community garden participation. The preferences of proponents of growing foods are explained by their high subjective knowledge about growing foods and reasons tied to the benefits of participating in community gardening. Opponents of growing foods at community gardens are characterized by low knowledge. The findings can be used to design policies that promote sustainable food systems in urban areas.

Relationships between coworking spaces and CO2 emissions in work-related commuting: first empirical insights for the case of Switzerland with regard to urban-rural differences

Today in transport policy it is assumed that new forms of work are producing falls in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from work-related commuting. So far, research on the effects of teleworking generally report positive environmental outcomes. However, no study has so far compared and contrasted the greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential of the new phenomenon of coworking spaces with regard to urban-rural differences. Our results based on a representative sample of Swiss coworkers indicate that CO2 emissions from commuting for work are significantly lower for urban coworking spaces (350 kilograms/year) than for rural coworking spaces (940 kilograms/year). If coworkers only would have worked in their coworking spaces, there would be a 10% reduction in CO2 emissions of their commutes. Overall, our results indicate that coworking spaces, especially in urban areas, have the potential to support Switzerland’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transport sector in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

Boating- and Shipping-Related Environmental Impacts and Example Management Measures: A Review

Boating and shipping operations, their associated activities and supporting infrastructure present a potential for environmental impacts. Such impacts include physical changes to bottom substrate and habitats from sources such as anchoring and mooring and vessel groundings, alterations to the physico-chemical properties of the water column and aquatic biota through the application of antifouling paints, operational and accidental discharges (ballast and bilge water, hydrocarbons, garbage and sewage), fauna collisions, and various other disturbances. Various measures exist to sustainably manage these impacts. In addition to a review of associated boating- and shipping-related environmental impacts, this paper provides an outline of the government- and industry-related measures relevant to achieving positive outcomes in an Australian context. Historically, direct regulations have been used to cover various environmental impacts associated with commercial, industrial, and recreational boating and shipping operations (e.g., MARPOL). The effectiveness of this approach is the degree to which compliance can be effectively monitored and enforced. To be effective, environmental managers require a comprehensive understanding of the full range of instruments available, and the respective roles they play in helping achieve positive environmental outcomes, including the pros and cons of the various regulatory alternatives.

A global analysis of the social and environmental outcomes of community forests

Community forest management (CFM) has been promoted for decades as a way to merge environmental conservation with economic development and natural resource rights agendas. Yet many of these initiatives have also led to substantial socioeconomic and environmental trade-offs. We present a comprehensive global analysis of environmental, income and natural resource rights outcomes of CFM, using data from 643 cases in 51 countries. We find that while the majority of cases reported positive environmental and income-related outcomes, forest access and resource rights were often negatively affected by policies to formalize CFM, countering one of CFM’s principal goals. Positive outcomes across all three dimensions were rare. We show that biophysical conditions, de facto tenure rights, national context, user-group characteristics and intervention types are key predictors of joint positive outcomes. These findings highlight key conducive conditions for CFM interventions, which can inform CFM design to ensure positive outcomes across multiple sustainability dimensions.

Renewable energy targets may undermine their sustainability

As the world’s economies seek to use new renewable energy developments to address climate change and reinvigorate economies post-COVID-19, avoiding a fixation on targets in decision-making will ensure positive social and environmental outcomes.

What Drives Household Deforestation Decisions? Insights from the Ecuadorian Lowland Rainforests

Tropical forests, and more concretely, the Amazon Basin and the Chocó-Darién, are highly affected by deforestation activities. Households are the main land-use decision-makers and are key agents for forest conservation and deforestation. Understanding the determinants of deforestation at the household level is critical for conservation policies and sustainable development. We explore the drivers of household deforestation decisions, focusing on the quality of the forest resources (timber volume potential) and the institutional environment (conservation strategies, titling, and governmental grants). Both aspects are hypothesized to influence deforestation, but there is little empirical evidence. We address the following questions: (i) Does timber availability attract more deforestation? (ii) Do conservation strategies (incentive-based programs in the Central Amazon and protected areas in the Chocó-Darién) influence deforestation decisions in household located outside the areas under conservation? (iii) Does the absence of titling increase the odds of a household to deforest? (iv) Can governmental grants for poverty alleviation help in the fight against deforestation? We estimated a logit model, where the dependent variable reflects whether or not a household cleared forest within the farm. As predictors, we included the above variables and controlled by household-specific characteristics. This study was conducted in the Central Amazon and the Chocó-Darién of Ecuador, two major deforestation fronts in the country. We found that timber volume potential is associated with a higher odds of deforesting in the Central Amazon, but with a lower odds in the Chocó-Darién. Although conservation strategies can influence household decisions, the effects are context-dependent. Households near the incentive-based program (Central Amazon) have a lower odds of deforesting, whereas households near a protected area (Chocó-Darién) showed the opposite effect. Titling is also important for deforestation reduction; more attention is needed in the Chocó-Darién where numerous households are living in untitled lands. Finally, governmental grants for poverty alleviation showed the potential to generate positive environmental outcomes.

Slow-growing broilers are healthier and express more behavioural indicators of positive welfare

Broiler chicken welfare is under increasing scrutiny due to welfare concerns regarding growth rate and stocking density. This farm-based study explored broiler welfare in four conditions representing commercial systems varying in breed and planned maximum stocking density: (1) Breed A, 30 kg/m2; (2) Breed B, 30 kg/m2; (3) Breed B, 34 kg/m2; (4) Breed C, 34 kg/m2. Breeds A and B were ‘slow-growing’ breeds (< 50 g/day), and Breed C was a widely used ‘fast-growing’ breed. Indicators of negative welfare, behavioural indicators of positive welfare and environmental outcomes were assessed. Clear differences between conditions were detected. Birds in Condition 4 experienced the poorest health (highest mortality and post-mortem inspection rejections, poorest walking ability, most hock burn and pododermatitis) and litter quality. These birds also displayed lower levels of behaviours indicative of positive welfare (enrichment bale occupation, qualitative ‘happy/active’ scores, play, ground-scratching) than birds in Conditions 1–3. These findings provide farm-based evidence that significant welfare improvement can be achieved by utilising slow-growing breeds. There are suggested welfare benefits of a slightly lower planned maximum stocking density for Breed B and further health benefits of the slowest-growing breed, although these interventions do not offer the same magnitude of welfare improvement as moving away from fast-growing broilers.

Linked vehicle model: A simple car-following model for automated vehicles

The expectation from automated vehicles has been increasing in recent years. Potential advantages for automated vehicles include driving safety, traffic efficiency, and positive environmental outcomes. To evaluate the extent to which automated vehicles are advantageous against conventional vehicles, this paper presents a simple car-following model, named the linked vehicle model, which reflects the capabilities of automated vehicles and the interaction between adjacent automated vehicles. The idea behind linked vehicle model is inspired by the collective motion of self-propelled particles in nature and the study of vehicle platooning from the Safe Road Trains for the Environment project. Moreover, the model is integrated into a traffic simulator in order to evaluate the performance of automated vehicles in an ideal circumstance. Comparisons with other representative car-following models are also provided, and they show that linked vehicle model achieves both optimal microscopic and macroscopic performance. Simulated results also show that linked vehicle model attains the best fuel economy and the lowest pollutant emissions.