Corporate environmental performance,environmental information disclosure,and financial performance: Evidence from China

As pollution emitters and energy users, firms are important causes of environmental problems, making it increasingly vital for them to strengthen their environmental management and information disclosure policies. However, firms doubt whether it pays to be green and whether it is worthwhile to disclose their environmental information, and there are hot debates on these questions in the literature. This paper analyzes the relationships among corporate environmental performance, environmental information disclosure, and financial performance in China, which witnessed rapid growth at the price of environmental degradation. With 950 observations from 475 Chinese listed companies between 2013 and 2014, we find a U-shaped nonlinear relationship between corporate environmental performance and environmental disclosure, an insignificant relationship between environmental performance and financial performance, and a negative relationship between environmental disclosure and financial performance, which is different from most findings in developed countries. The aforementioned results imply that Chinese firms have few motivations to disclose environmental information or improve environmental performance; therefore, mandatory disclosure of environmental information is necessary, and proper environmental policy should be made to punish environmental violations and encourage better environmental performance.     

Regional environmental efficiency in China: Analysis based on a regional slack-based measure with environmental undesirable outputs

As the largest developing country, China has been suffering from resource shortage and serious environmental pollution. Evaluation and improvement of the regional environmental efficiency is crucial to pursuing the balance between economic development and environmental protection. This paper used a regional environmental efficiency SBM (slack-based measure) (REES) model which treats environmental pollution as undesirable outputs to evaluate the environmental efficiency of 30 provincial administrative regions (PARs) in China from 2005 to 2011 and investigated the factors affecting environmental efficiency using the Tobit regression model. The results indicate that there is distinct difference in environmental efficiency amongst each PAR. The GDP per capita, industrial structure, innovation capability, environmental awareness of local government and population density have significant positive impacts, while energy intensity exerts a significantly negative effect on environmental efficiency. In order to make more effective policies for improving China’s regional environmental efficiency, the hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to divide the 30 PARs into 3 sub-regions. A number of policy recommendations were provided for improving environmental efficiency according to the characteristics of each sub-region, which are helpful for the Chinese government to achieve the targets of environmental protection along with the economic development in the coming years.     

中国土壤环境功能区划方案

针对我国土壤环境功能分类分区管理的重大需求,本文讨论了土壤环境功能的广义与狭义概念及其对应属性.基于土壤环境质量对功能的约束分析,阐明了其与土壤环境质量区划关系.在比较不同土壤环境功能区划方法与指标基础上,以土壤环境质量适宜性和土壤环境功能分类为依据,构建了土壤环境功能区划指标体系.提出了全国土壤环境功能区划方案,具体归纳了4个一级功能类型,10个二级功能类型,划分为75个土壤环境功能区.根据不同区域的功能分区现状,提出了相应的管理对策,为我国土壤污染防治规划与区域风险管控提供科学依据.     

2019环境生物技术专刊序言

环境生物技术,作为一门由现代生物技术与环境工程相结合的新兴交叉学科,已经在环境污染治理、环境监测中得到了广泛的应用,环境友好、高效地处理有机及无机污染,同时变废为宝生产高值化合物为从根本上解决环境问题提供了希望与支持。本专刊报道了环境生物技术在多环芳烃、抗生素、石油基塑料等环境污染物降解领域的基础与应用研究,介绍了吲哚、微生物铁载体等分子在生物修复中的应用,为全面认识环境污染现状、深入开展环境生物技术研究并制定综合治理策略等提供参考。     

环境投入产出分析在产业生态学中的应用

综述了环境投入产出分析的基本知识及其在产业生态学领域的应用。环境投入产出分析的核心是投入产出模型,包括价值型投入产出模型、实物型投入产出模型和混合型投入产出模型。环境投入产出分析在产业生态学领域主要用于环境压力核算、生命周期评估、社会经济因素相对贡献分析、产业链路径分析、风险影响分析和环境网络分析。同时,相关学者进行环境投入产出数据库开发,给环境投入产出分析提供便捷、标准化的数据渠道。讨论了环境投入产出分析的若干发展趋势。     

Community stability under different correlation structures of species’ environmental responses

The outcome of species interactions in a variable environment is expected to depend on how similarly different species react to variation in environmental conditions. We study community stability (evenness and species diversity) in competitive communities that are either closed or subjected to random migration, under different regimes of environmental forcing. Community members respond to environmental variation: (i) independently (IR), (ii) in a positively correlated way (CR), or (iii) hierarchically, according to niche differences (HR). Increasing the amplitude of environmental variation and environmental reddening both reduce species evenness in closed communities through a reduction in species richness and increased skew in species abundances, under all three environmental response scenarios, although autocorrelation only has a minor effect with HR. Open communities show important qualitative differences, according to changes in the correlation structure of species’ environmental responses. There is an intermediate minimum in evenness for HR communities with increasing environmental amplitude, explained by the interaction of changes in species richness and changes in the variance of within-species environmental responses across the community. Changes in autocorrelation also lead to qualitative differences between IR, CR and HR communities. Our results highlight the importance of considering mechanistically derived, hierarchical environmental correlations between species when addressing the influence of environmental variation on ecological communities, not only uniform environmental correlation across all species within a community.     

Eco-efficiency and Its xsTerminology

Eco-efficiency has been defined as a general goal of creating value while decreasing environmental impact. Leaving out the normative part of this concept, the empirical part refers to a ratio between environmental impact and economic cost or value. Two basic choices must be made in defining practical eco-efficiency: which variable is in the denominator and which is in the numerator; and whether to specify environmental impact or improvement and value created or cost. Distinguishing between two situations, the general one of value creation and the specific one of environmental improvement efforts, and leaving the numerator-denominator choice to the user, as diverging practices have developed, four basic types of ecoefficiency result: environmental intensity and environmental productivity in the realm of value creation; and environmental improvement cost and environmental cost-effectiveness in the realm of environmental improvement measures.     

Environmental variation and population responses to global change

Species' responses to environmental changes such as global warming are affected not only by trends in mean conditions, but also by natural and human‐induced environmental fluctuations. Methods are needed to predict how such environmental variation affects ecological and evolutionary processes, in order to design effective strategies to conserve biodiversity under global change. Here, we review recent theoretical and empirical studies to assess: (1) how populations respond to changes in environmental variance, and (2) how environmental variance affects population responses to changes in mean conditions. Contrary to frequent claims, empirical studies show that increases in environmental variance can increase as well as decrease long‐term population growth rates. Moreover, environmental variance can alter and even reverse the effects of changes in the mean environment, such that even if environmental variance remains constant, omitting it from population models compromises their ability to predict species' responses to changes in mean conditions. Drawing on theory relating these effects of environmental variance to the curvatures of population growth responses to the environment, we outline how species' traits such as phylogenetic history and body mass could be used to predict their responses to global change under future environmental variability.     

基于Web of Science分析的生态创新研究进展

生态创新是实现绿色发展的重要举措。为了深入了解生态创新的研究进展,基于Web of Science引文数据库,系统收集了2007—2018年间615篇符合生态创新主题的论文,采用文献计量、内容分析等方法对文献进行了科学和系统分析,构建了生态创新研究的整合框架。结果发现:生态创新的研究基础围绕“基础理论、竞争优势、环境政策工具”三个方面,其研究热点包括生态创新的绩效评估、生态创新与企业绩效的关系,以及生态创新的驱动因素。最后,基于分析结果,本研究勾勒出了生态创新领域未来的研究方向。     

Prediction of breeding values and selection responses with genetic heterogeneity of environmental variance

There is empirical evidence that genotypes differ not only in mean, but also in environmental variance of the traits they affect. Genetic heterogeneity of environmental variance may indicate genetic differences in environmental sensitivity. The aim of this study was to develop a general framework for prediction of breeding values and selection responses in mean and environmental variance with genetic heterogeneity of environmental variance. Both means and environmental variances were treated as heritable traits. Breeding values and selection responses were predicted with little bias using linear, quadratic, and cubic regression on individual phenotype or using linear regression on the mean and within-family variance of a group of relatives. A measure of heritability was proposed for environmental variance to standardize results in the literature and to facilitate comparisons to "conventional" traits. Genetic heterogeneity of environmental variance can be considered as a trait with a low heritability. Although a large amount of information is necessary to accurately estimate breeding values for environmental variance, response in environmental variance can be substantial, even with mass selection. The methods developed allow use of the well-known selection index framework to evaluate breeding strategies and effects of natural selection that simultaneously change the mean and the variance.     

The response of amphibian larvae to environmental change is both consistent and variable

Many environments are undergoing rapid environmental change and there is a need to understand the mechanisms by which species can persist in altered environments. Model systems, such as amphibian metamorphosis, which can be generalized across many types of environmental change and across many species, are a powerful tool for understanding mechanisms that facilitate persistence in altered and disturbed environments. Amphibian larvae respond to environmental change by varying age at metamorphosis, or size at metamorphosis. Differential selection pressures on age or size at metamorphosis may result in a differential response among taxa to environmental change. Using a meta‐analysis, we investigated whether age at metamorphosis, size at metamorphosis, and larval growth rate vary within and among taxonomic families of amphibians in experiments that modified the environmental temperature, density of individuals, food, hydroperiod and the presence of predators. For all environmental factors except predators, the direction of the response was consistent across most of the studied taxa. However, there was considerable variation in effect size both within and among families. Results demonstrate that amphibian metamorphosis is a valuable model system for studying the effects of environmental change. Yet, we stress the need for caution in making generalizations about how individuals respond to environmental factors that have an indirect effect on physiology and require the perception of an environmental cue, such as the presence of predators. Synthesis As the current conditions of the environment are rapidly changing there is a need to understand how organisms respond to environmental change, and whether response of one species can be generalized to other species. Using a meta‐analyses, we tested whether the phenotypic response of amphibian larvae to five types of environmental change is consistent among and within taxonomic families. The phenotypic response to changes in environmental factors was consistent when the environmental factor has a direct effect on physiology, but varies among and within family if the environmental factor has an indirect effect on physiology or requires the perception of an environmental cue.     

A new approach for environmental risk assessment

Environmental problems, such as global warming, the limited supply of sustainable energy, the depletion of natural resources, hazardous emissions released into the atmosphere and waste, are increasing global concerns. Therefore, individuals, communities, and businesses need to address environmental protection and sustainability. Environmental impact assessments are needed to identify, mitigate, and control aspects that affect the environment or a company's products, services, or activities. In this study, a general environmental aspect and impact assessment approach, which can be applied to any company that is involved in the production or service sector, is created. An environmental impact pattern that consists of 10 main and 32 sub-categories was formed based on the ISO 14001, environmental studies and field applications. The developed approach was applied to the dyeing units of a manufacturing firm. Sixteen environmental aspects were identified and assessed using the environmental impact template via the environmental failure mode and effect analysis (E-FMEA) method. The developed-approach can be applied to each sector, which will enable us to perform a detailed analysis of the environmental aspects in the environmental impact category. This approach provides a checklist for the environmental impact studies of businesses and has been pioneered as an effective method for company resources to improve their environmental performance.     

A Framework for Accurately Informing Facilitated Regional Industrial Symbioses on Environmental Consequences

Facilitated regional industrial symbiosis (FRIS) initiatives mainly aim at increasing regional resource‐use efficiency, but should also assess and anticipate other environmental consequences of the intended structural system changes. To successfully embed environmental criteria in an FRIS process, the environmental impacts resulting from induced system changes should comprehensively address all environmental aspects relevant to stakeholders. Normative environmental assessment frameworks used in FRIS, such as life cycle assessment, fail to address the ambiguity surrounding the concept of environment itself and its social foundations. The “environment” is a polysemous (i.e., has multiple meanings), relative and subjective construction and environmental consequences of FRIS initiative should be selected by means of environmental assessment frameworks that enable subjective identification of environmental phenomena of interest. We propose such an environmental assessment framework providing both (1) a logical basis accommodating all FRIS stakeholders’ perceptions of the environment and environmental consequences and (2) a method, embedding that logical basis, for the consideration of environmental consequences in FRIS. The logical basis is built by conceptually structuring independent key elements of the perception of “environment,” that is, the relation between environmental consequences and FRIS stakeholders (object‐subject relation). This generic environmental assessment framework contrasts with the direct use of normative frameworks under which both the phenomena of interest and their indicators are conflated and predefined. The proposed framework is partially illustrated by describing its application to a specific case: the identification of phenomena of interest within an FRIS process aiming to recycle organic residues in Réunion.     

Evaluation of environmental efficiency in China using data envelopment analysis

As a main method for achieving environmental protection, improvement of environmental efficiency is vitally important for reducing environmental risk and level of ecological scarcity. Thus, quantitative analysis of environmental efficiency is not only an important premise for understanding the situation of regional environmental protection, but also a prerequisite for designing and adjusting relevant policies. In this paper, we treat the undesirable output in an economic activity by a linear monotonic decreasing transformation approach. We employ data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique to evaluate environmental efficiency in 30 provinces of China during the period 2001–2010, and conduct hypothesis tests on these environmental efficiencies. Furthermore, we investigate the horizontal differences of environmental efficiency in six regions of China and the vertical differences among different years. The results show that our empirical tests have a high statistical reliability that provides support for prompting environmental policies in different parts of China.     

手机信令数据在粤港澳大湾区大气环境风险管理中的应用研究——以江门市为例

粤港澳大湾区是国际化程度、资源整合能力、经济价值和效益都极高的区域,必须高度重视其环境风险问题,避免区域生态系统和人民群众健康受到威胁。人类活动密集区的突发环境事件风险源和受体的涉及面广、来源复杂,利用传统统计数据和技术手段开展的环境风险评价越来越体现出其时效性弱、精准性差的缺点。尝试引入手机信令数据及其模拟分析的人口数据,并将其嵌入到网格化环境风险分析法中,对粤港澳大湾区的江门市大气环境风险进行评估,刻画区域环境风险空间分布特征,精准识别区域环境风险类型。研究方法是在遵循《行政区域突发环境事件风险评估推荐方法》的前提下,通过对比分析统计数据与手机信令数据得到的江门市人口空间分布、大气环境风险易损性及环境风险值,结果表明虽然两者的总体趋势是一致的,但利用手机信令数据得到的环境风险等级结果更精细化、分辨率更高、时效性更强、数据处理更高效。研究表明,基于手机信令数据开展分析显著提高了环境风险评估的风险受体人口分析精度,可为预测及管理区域环境风险提供准确参考,实现突发环境事件应急处置区域具体化、最小化,从而减小应急处理成本。     

Environmental colour affects aspects of single-species population dynamics

Single-species populations of ciliates (Colpidium and Paramecium) experienced constant temperature or white or reddened temperature fluctuations in aquatic microcosms in order to test three hypotheses about how environmental colour influences population dynamics. (i) Models predict that the colour of population dynamics is tinged by the colour of the environmental variability. However, environmental colour had no effect on the colour of population dynamics. All population dynamics in this experiment were reddened, regardless of environmental colour. (ii) Models predict that populations will track reddened environmental variability more closely than white environmental variability and that populations with a higher intrinsic growth rate (r) will track environmental variability more closely than populations with a low r. The experimental populations behaved as predicted. (iii) Models predict that population variability is determined by interaction between r and the environmental variability. The experimental populations behaved as predicted. These results show that (i) reddened population dynamics may need no special explanation, such as reddened environments, spatial subdivision or interspecific interactions, and (ii) and (iii) that population dynamics are sensitive to environmental colour, in agreement with population models. Correct specification of the colour of the environmental variability in models is required for accurate predictions. Further work is needed to study the effects of environmental colour on communities and ecosystems.     

Connections with Nature and Environmental Behaviors

The influence of environmental attitudes on environmental behaviors has long been discussed. However, few studies have addressed the foundation of such attitudes. In the present study, we explored primitive belief underlying environmental attitudes, i.e., connections with nature, and its relationship with pro-environmental behaviors. Specifically, we used scales, a computerized Implicit Association Test, and a situational simulation experiment to examine both explicit and implicit connections with nature, both deliberate and spontaneous environmental behaviors, and to find correlations between environmental connectedness and environmental behaviors. Results showed that explicit connectedness was positively correlated with deliberate environmental behaviors, while implicit connectedness was positively correlated with spontaneous environmental behaviors. Additionally, explicit and implicit connectedness was independent of each other. In conclusion, the current study confirms the positive role played by connections with nature in promoting environmental behavior, and accordingly suggests means to encourage pro-environmental behavior by enhancing people’s connectedness to nature.     

基于环境容量的汶川地震重建规划区环境适宜性评价

基于对四川汶川地震中受灾严重的51个县1271个乡镇的水环境容量估算,对不同地域的环境适宜性进行评价,旨在为震区恢复重建的人口、经济布局提供一定科学依据。水环境容量选择COD和NH3-N两个指标进行评价,首先利用降雨量、径流系数和径流深等参数评价单元的径流量,再根据水环境质量标准、水体自然背景值等参数估算环境容量;进而在水环境污染胁迫程度计算的基础上,进行了环境适宜性评价。结果显示：水环境容量区域性差异明显,北部三省交界区域的乡镇容量较高、东南部四川盆地边缘和内部区域的乡镇容量较高、西部的山区乡镇环境容量低;西南部污染胁迫程度较低,环境适宜性较高;西部自然保护区胁迫程度较大,环境适宜性较低;成都平原附近县域胁迫较大,环境适宜性较低;环境适宜性区域性明显,但也呈现出一定的分散性。     

Development of environmental performance indicators supported by an environmental information system: Application to the Norwegian defence sector

Environmental performance indicators (EPIs) can be an important tool for evaluating and reporting the integration of environmental practices and tools in the defence sector, ensuring that environmental issues are being consistently and clearly followed into sector activities on a local and national scale. However, proper use of indicators is dependent on a suitable conceptual framework to manage and assess the environmental performance. Furthermore, monitoring is fundamental to environmental efficiency evaluations both to assess adherence to standards and to support management options. The use of EPI assures that a monitoring system for a public sector addresses only the key variables associated with significant environmental impacts and also improves communication with stakeholders. The main objective of this paper is to develop EPIs supported by an environmental information system (EIS), as a tool for environmental efficiency evaluations in the defence sector. To put the proposed approach into practice, the Norwegian defence EIS is used as a data source – a system developed to increase environmental awareness and to promote environmental efficiency, in the reporting of environmental aspects like use of ammunition, generation of waste, energy consumption, fuel consumption, use of chemicals, and water consumption. Use of real data acquired from the EIS is used to test and evaluate the robustness of the public sector's environmental performance indicator conceptual framework (SEPIIS), used to support the developed indicators. The main findings show how an indicator framework can be effectively combined with the use of an EIS designed to process data from a sector's activities, stressing how environmental issues could be integrated into overall public services performance management. The EPI developed for the Norwegian defence allowed to trace the sector's environmental performance, by comparisons with commissions from the Norwegian Ministry of Defence and national goals for GHG emissions, identifying areas for priority response measures. This joined approach of indicators and information systems could be useful to increase and improve environmental ex post and ex ante assessments, reporting and communication of defence activities.     

Metacommunity Composition of Web-Spiders in a Fragmented Neotropical Forest: Relative Importance of Environmental and Spatial Effects

The distribution of beta diversity is shaped by factors linked to environmental and spatial control. The relative importance of both processes in structuring spider metacommunities has not yet been investigated in the Atlantic Forest. The variance explained by purely environmental, spatially structured environmental, and purely spatial components was compared for a metacommunity of web spiders. The study was carried out in 16 patches of Atlantic Forest in southern Brazil. Field work was done in one landscape mosaic representing a slight gradient of urbanization. Environmental variables encompassed plot- and patch-level measurements and a climatic matrix, while principal coordinates of neighbor matrices (PCNMs) acted as spatial variables. A forward selection procedure was carried out to select environmental and spatial variables influencing web-spider beta diversity. Variation partitioning was used to estimate the contribution of pure environmental and pure spatial effects and their shared influence on beta-diversity patterns, and to estimate the relative importance of selected environmental variables. Three environmental variables (bush density, land use in the surroundings of patches, and shape of patches) and two spatial variables were selected by forward selection procedures. Variation partitioning revealed that 15% of the variation of beta diversity was explained by a combination of environmental and PCNM variables. Most of this variation (12%) corresponded to pure environmental and spatially environmental structure. The data indicated that (1) spatial legacy was not important in explaining the web-spider beta diversity; (2) environmental predictors explained a significant portion of the variation in web-spider composition; (3) one-third of environmental variation was due to a spatial structure that jointly explains variation in species distributions. We were able to detect important factors related to matrix management influencing the web-spider beta-diversity patterns, which are probably linked to historical deforestation events.