Loss of biodiversity has been in the forefront of conservation issues worldwide since the last century. Biodiversity conservation through restoring degraded habitats or creating new habitats is advocated in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. Newly created grasslands on restored landfill sites are semi-natural habitats that could support a number of species. However, it is unknown whether these re-created habitats represent a significant resource in terms of biodiversity conservation though poor quality soil was being used for restoration. A multi-taxon approach was applied to examine the biodiversity potential of these novel habitats. Plants (vascular plants and bryophytes), invertebrates (carabid beetles and land snails), and vertebrates (birds) were studied on nine restored landfill sites and paired reference sites in the East Midlands region of the UK during 2007 and 2008. Plant species data were collected by random quadrats along two 100m transects from each site; carabid beetles were censused by pitfall traps; land snails were investigated by hand searches along the transects; and bird species were assessed using point counts. Effects of restoration were investigated by examining species richness, diversity or abundance of studied taxa and also how habitat quality and landscape factors determined species composition on restored landfill sites. A total of 170 plant species (162 vascular plants and 8 bryophytes), 37 carabid beetle, 17 land snail and 12 bird species were found in the studied sites. Species richness and diversity or abundance of studied taxa on restored landfill sites were found to be equal to or above that of reference sites. Compositional differences were found between taxa on restored landfill sites and their corresponding reference sites. Though vegetation composition including NVC plant communities on restored landfill sites was rather homogeneous compared to reference sites, restored landfill sites were found to support a number of nationally decreasing native plant species and of common species of other taxa and also a number of Red List bird species such as Skylark (Alauda arvensis), Grey partridge (Perdix perdix), Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), Tree sparrow (Passer montanus) and Starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Habitat quality and landscape variables were found to be significant predictors for different species. Underlying soils were found to be an important factor in determining the heterogeneity of the plant communities within the study area which in turn dictates suitability of habitat for other taxonomic groups. A lack of congruency between taxa supports the incorporation of a multi-taxa approach into restoration plans. Management in terms of cutting or mowing of these landfill sites were found to have varying influences on different taxa. Moreover, restored landfill sites had less disturbance than reference sites as there was restricted access to dog walkers and for recreational purposes. This may be one of the main factors that could enhance the richness and abundance of a number of taxa, especially bird species. Management of these landfill sites should be targeted on species-specific goals as these sites can play a significant role in Local Biodiversity Action Plans. Overall, this study indicates that restored landfill sites have potential biodiversity conservation value in a complex modified human landscape.

In autumn 2017, a news scandal surfaced in the Latvian media about a potential subsidy scam by the renewable energy generating companies. The scandal bought the attention of the Latvian government towards the renewable energy policy in Latvia with thoughts to research the existing support system and potentially change it to a new one. This situation provided the ground for reviewing the Latvian renewable energy policy in a comparison study with another European Union (EU) member country with an example of a good renewable energy policy implementation. Sweden was selected as the subject for the studies. This study was performed through a qualitative empirical data review, using documents and journal articles as the main information sources. The study has shown that both Sweden and Latvia take a leading position within the EU when it comes to the renewable energy share in the final energy mix regardless of the considerable gap in the quality of governance index that has an impact on the sustainable development of a country. A comparison of Latvian and Swedish policy also shows a difference in the policy consistency and stability. Lack of coherent policy terminology throughout the different authoritative information sources, more frequent policy revisions than in Sweden and general lack of data availability summarizes the situation in Latvia. The research has identified that the main difference between Latvian and Swedish renewable energy policy is the administrative processes surrounding it. In general, it can be said that Sweden has a more transparent system with less bureaucracy whereas in Latvia the process is more complex and therefore is more susceptible to corruption.

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate how companies address sustainability holistically and compare the practical results to theoretical findings. The holistic approach of sustainability includes four dimensions and five corporate system elements.   Methods: For creating the theoretical framework a literature review was executed. Empirical data was gathered from a multiple case study. In total five case companies have been selected and five interviews have been conducted. Furthermore the interview guideline included a small survey. Empirical data was complemented by information from sustainability reports and companies website.   Main findings: Sustainability is partly executed in differently in practical terms compared to theory research. The differences are mainly explained by the unique use of sustainability initiatives, which are adapted to companies circumstances.   Academic contributions: Previously, only a few researchers investigated the combination of initiatives to provide a holistic sustainability approach. Furthermore a lack of practical research in the field of sustainability has been identified. This thesis contributes to close this gap by investigating five case companies regarding the use of multiple initiatives.   Practical implications: Based on the findings a model was created by the authors. By applying this model and using recommended initiatives companies are able to establish a holistic sustainability approach, involving all sustainability dimensions and corporate system elements.   Limitations: The interviews have been translated from German or Dutch into English, which increases the risk of wrong interpretations. Further the interview involved only one representative per company. Additionally the number of small case study companies and case companies from the service sector might limit the generalization of the results.

A tomada de decisões relacionadas à gestão ambiental em empresas comumente é afetada pela falta de conhecimento e dificuldade de gerenciamento de informações sobre questões ambientais, que muitas vezes são complexas e apresentam-se em uma linguagem pouco comum no meio gerencial. Essas dificuldades podem desacelerar a implementação de mudanças, que poderiam resultar em melhores condições de sustentabilidade do negócio da empresa, do meio ambiente e da sociedade. Metodologias existentes para auxílio à tomada de decisão aplicáveis à gestão ambiental normalmente focam o fator financeiro ou ambiental, sendo limitadas em relação à consideração desses dois fatores conjuntamente, ou à incorporação de outros no processo decisório. O presente trabalho de mestrado tem como objetivo o desenvolvimento de uma metodologia para auxílio à tomada de decisões gerenciais que incorpore informações sobre fatores financeiros, ambientais e sociais decorrentes de aspectos, impactos e riscos ambientais. Como resultado obteve-se uma metodologia baseada em avaliação integrada de riscos, que possibilita a estruturação e gerenciamento de um grande número de informações, facilitando seu entendimento e utilização nos processos decisórios. Essa metodologia foi aplicada em um estudo de caso envolvendo a tomada de decisão quanto à seleção de alternativas para a otimização da gestão de águas e efluentes em um complexo industrial. As alternativas foram avaliadas em termos de potencial de redução de riscos sob as perspectivas ambiental, financeira e de imagem da empresa, obtendo como resultados informações consolidadas que permitiram à Empresa sua comparação e seleção daquela com maior potencial de atender às suas expectativas. Os resultados obtidos no estudo de caso encorajam a utilização futura da metodologia desenvolvida. / Decision making regarding environmental management in companies usually is affected by the lack of knowledge and the difficulty to manage information concerning environmental issues, which can be complex and expressed in a terms not well understood by some managers. These difficulties can slow the implementation of changes which could result in better environmental, social and business conditions of the company. Existing methodologies for environmental decision making usually focus on financial or environmental aspects, being limited in terms of considering both together or accepting other aspects to the decision process. The goal of this work is to develop a methodology to help on environmental decision making which comprises financial, environmental and social aspects associated with environmental aspects, impacts and risks. As result of this work, it was developed a methodology based on integrated risk assessment, which makes possible structuring and management of a high amount of information, improving its understanding and use on decision making processes. This methodology was applied on a case study comprising decision making regarding the selection of alternatives for optimization of the water and wastewater management in an industrial complex. The alternatives were evaluated in terms of risk reduction potential under environmental, financial and company image perspectives, obtaining as result consolidated information which allowed the Company to compare these alternatives and select that which higher potential to attend its expectative. The satisfactory results obtained on this case study encourage future applications of the developed methodology.

A sustentabilidade das facilidades construídas é premissa para o desenvolvimento sustentável global. Sendo assim, esta tese pretende reconhecer quais seriam os novos aspectos do gerenciamento de facilidades a serem desenvolvidos para garantir a perenidade e a evolução do desempenho dos edifícios em uso. O modelo de gerenciamento da sustentabilidade de facilidades construídas proposto nesta tese é elaborado a partir da caracterização das atividades normalmente realizadas pelos gerentes de facilidades dos edifícios, agente relativamente novo no contexto imobiliário, mas que já tem demonstrado sua importância em termos de redução de custos operacionais e valorização imobiliária. Os modelos de avaliação e certificação de edifícios e os sistemas de gestão ambiental também auxiliam na elaboração deste modelo de gerenciamento, uma vez que apresentam requisitos e ferramentas relevantes para as questões de desempenho ambiental e gerencial dos edifícios. Assim, fundamentado no conceito de gestão para o desempenho, o modelo proposto por esta tese indica diretrizes de gerenciamento e sugere requisitos para a avaliação do desempenho dos edifícios em uso nas suas diversas tipologias. A intenção é apresentar uma forma concreta de inserir objetivos de sustentabilidade na rotina diária dos gerentes de facilidades, por meio de uma sistemática de gestão e da identificação dos parâmetros essenciais a serem controlados. / The facilities sustainability is a premise for a global sustainable development. Therefore, this thesis aims to recognize what are the new aspects of facilities management to be developed to ensure existing buildings performance and its evolution along time. The model presented in this thesis for the management of facilities sustainability is drawn from the characterization of the activities usually performed by the facilities managers, which is a quite new staff member in the real estate market, but that already has demonstrated its importance in terms of reducing operating costs and value appreciation. The buildings evaluation and certification models and the environmental management systems also help in preparing this management model, as they present requirements and relevant tools to the issues of environmental performance and buildings management. Thus, based on the concept of management performance, the model proposed by this thesis suggests management guidelines and some requirements for assessing the performance of existing buildings in all kinds of typologies. The goal is to provide a concrete way to insert sustainability issues in the daily routine of facilities managers through a systematic management and a key parameters control.

A crise ambiental tem suas origens em períodos remotos, entretanto, é com o modelo de desenvolvimento consolidado a partir da modernidade que problemas ambientais e sociais se intensificam. Desse modo, estabelecem-se duas racionalidades que podem orientar o desenvolvimento: a econômica, que se relaciona ao processo de acumulação capitalista; e a ambiental, que enxerga a crise como uma crise civilizacional. O estudo da Gestão Ambiental nos indica que esta seria uma noção em disputa entre estas duas racionalidades, podendo adquirir sentidos contraditórios. Sua história pode ser resumida como uma noção gerada na esfera pública dos países desenvolvidos, na década de 1970, porém que, às vésperas da Rio-92, sofre adequação ao setor mercantil, interessado em assumir nova postura frente às questões ambientais. Um aspecto que merece ser debatido, portanto, são as motivações deste setor em se enveredar pelos caminhos do ambientalismo, sendo fato o reconhecimento da questão ambiental como peça chave em estratégias de mercado. Torna-se necessário compreender a maneira como o setor se apropriou e reduziu o discurso ambientalista, utilizando-se da valorização extremada da economia e da tecnologia como soluções para os problemas ambientais. É preciso verificar a força potencial dos meios de comunicação em se tornarem instrumentos de consolidação de um discurso único que representa o viés de seus dirigentes. Este trabalho tem por objetivo analisar criticamente o conteúdo das mensagens sobre gestão ambiental veiculadas pelo jornal Folha de S. Paulo, entre os anos de 1997 e 2008. Buscou-se relacionar as mensagens às racionalidades econômica e ambiental e discutir as implicações decorrentes da difusão hegemônica de um discurso empresarial sobre o ambientalismo. / The environmental crisis has remote origins. However, new development models built during modernity intensified environmental and social problems. This way, there are two rationalities that could orient the development: the economic rationality related to capital accumulation; and the environmental rationality which sees the current situation as a civilization crisis. From environmental management studies, we realize that this is a notion in construction, emerging from conflict between these two rationalities. Because of that, it can acquire contradictory meanings. The short history of this expression can be summarized as a notion formed, in the late 1970´s, in the public sphere of the most industrialized countries. In the eve of Rio-92, it was appropriated by the corporations, which were interested in a new image and posture to face environmental issues. Therefore, the corporations motivations to get closer to the environmentalist discourse need debate. As a matter of fact, the environmental issues became a key element in marketing strategies. It turns necessary to understand how corporations internalized and impoverished the environmental discourse through an exacerbated valorization of economy and technology as solutions to environmental problems. It is important to find out the potential power of mass communication as a tool for the consolidation of an unique discourse representing the bias of medias owners. This study aims to analyze, in a critical way, the contents of the environmental management messages in Folha de S. Paulo newspaper, between 1997 and 2008. It looked for relations between messages and the economic and environmental rationalities and discusses the implication drifted from the hegemonic diffusion of an environmentalism enterprise discourse.

Methane (CH4) is the primary constituent of natural gas and a significant contributor to global climate change, accounting for 11% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. With the advent of hydraulic fracturing technology, production of natural gas from shale gas reserves has increased by 35% from 2005 to 2013. Fugitive CH4 emissions attributed to venting or leakage across the life cycle of natural gas systems have also increased, making the climate benefits ascribed to natural gas questionable when compared to oil and coal. This dissertation reports the results of three studies that improve our knowledge of the environmental and political ramifications of continued investment in and consumption of natural gas fuels. Using bottom-up flux chamber techniques we made direct measurements of CH4 emissions from 100 natural gas leaks in cast iron distribution mains within Metro Boston, MA in order to assess the nature of the distribution of gas leak size and constrain estimates of fugitive CH4 emissions across leak-prone urban distribution infrastructure. We find that the distribution of leak size is skewed, a small fraction of ‘superemitter’ leaks contribute disproportionate CH4 emissions, and CH4 flux at leak sites is not an indicator of safety. Next, we use the lens of urban natural gas infrastructure systems and apply an ecological analytical framework to identify dysfunctions in and opportunities for coordinated urban infrastructure management in Boston, MA. We find that there are real physical and fiscal constraints to retrofitting and expanding aging, urban infrastructure in U.S. cities. Achieving sustainable, resilient urban infrastructure requires active participation by all stakeholders as well as coordination within and between stakeholder groups. Finally, we introduce the term ‘unleakable carbon’ to refer to the uncombusted carbon-based gases associated with fossil fuel systems and demonstrate that in particular the unleakable carbon associated with natural gas constitutes a potentially large and heretofore unrecognized factor in estimating usable portions of Earth’s fossil fuel reserves. We demonstrate that unless unleakable carbon is curtailed, roughly 80 – 100% of our global natural gas reserves must remain underground if we hope to limit warming to 2 °C from 2010 to 2050.

Excessive nitrogen loading to surface water bodies has resulted in serious environmental, economical, ecological, and human health problems, such as groundwater contamination and eutrophication in surface water. One important source of nitrogen in the environment, especially in densely populated coastal areas in Florida, is due to wastewater treatment using onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems (OSTDS) (a.k.a., septic systems). Moreover, due to the population expansion, nitrogen loads from septic systems are expected to increase. Therefore, sustainable decision-making and management of nitrogen pollution due to septic systems are urgently needed. In this thesis, two software are used to simulate the whole process of nitrogen (ammonium and nitrate) transport starting from septic systems to finally reach the surface waterbodies. One software is VZMOD, and the other one is the ArcGIS-based Nitrogen Load Estimation Toolkit (ArcNLET). VZMOD is seamlessly integrated with ArcNLET in the way as follows. VZMOD is firstly used to simulate the flow and nitrogen transport in the vadose zone, which is between drain field infiltrative surface and water table, based on the assumption of steady-state, one-dimensional vertical reactive transport with constant incoming fluxes of water, ammonium, and nitrate. The ammonium and nitrate concentrations, given by VZMOD at the water table, are then used as the inputs to the modeling of ammonium and nitrate fate and transport in groundwater in ArcNLET, considering heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity and porosity as well as spatial variability of septic system locations, surface water bodies, and distances between septic systems and surface water bodies. In addition, the key mechanisms controlling nitrogen transport, including advection, dispersion, and denitrification, are also considered in ArcNLET. The study sites of this thesis research are the Main-South Canal (MSC) drainage basin and the City of Sebastian located in Indian River County in southeast Florida. Surface water bodies (e.g., rivers and streams) and groundwater at the two site discharge to the Southern Indian River Lagoon, where the ecological and biological integrity has deteriorated in the last several decades due to the decline in water quality caused in part by nitrogen pollution. There are in total 12,741 septic systems in the MSC area, while in the City of Sebastian, the number of septic systems is 4,883. The process of simulating nitrogen reactive transport from septic tanks to surface water bodies consists of the following three steps: (1) based on the site-specific data, such as DEM, waterbodies, septic locations, hydraulic conductivity and porosity, forward models of VZMOD and ArcNLET is developed, (2) based on the measured data of system state variables, such as water level and nitrogen concentration, the forward models are calibrated, and (3) the calibrated models are used to simulate nitrogen plumes and to estimate nitrogen load from the septic systems to surface water bodies. Considering the modeling ability and the site complexity, two questions, (1) what are the nitrogen characteristics of these two sites, (2) can my model be able to capture these nitrogen characteristics, have been investigated in this study, and the major findings are as follows: (1) The simulated nitrogen plumes and load estimates exhibit substantial spatial variability in the both sites, and the depth from drainfields to water table is important to nitrogen reactive transport, especially the ammonium nitrification to nitrate. (2) Ammonium and nitrate loads for the Main-South Canal drainage basin are largely located in the south to the South Canal drainage basin. Along the ditches and canals, the ammonium concentration is lower due to the small distance between water table and drainfields. There exists a region located in the southeast drainage basin where ammonium loading is high. (3) Incomplete nitrification process is exposed under the vadose zone while the denitrification process is mostly complete in the saturated zone in the Main-South Canal area. (4) The nitrification process is largely complete under the unsaturated zone while the denitrification process is incomplete in the saturated zone in the City of Sebastian area. (5) Reduction ratio is lower while nitrogen loading to surface waterbodies per septic system is larger in the City of Sebastian area than in the Main-South Canal area. (6) The flow model calibration in the City of Sebastian area is not as satisfactory as in the Main-South Canal area, because of the simplified assumption that water table is a subdued replica of topography used in ArcNLET is not satisfied at the study site. These results can be used to support the on-going Basin Management Action Plan. More efforts, such as investigating the soil condition (e.g. micro-bacteria content, dissolved oxygen or dissolved organic carbon and pH) and specific septic system environment, are also needed to verify these results and to develop more insights about the nitrogen processes in the study areas. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Scientific Computing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Fall Semester 2017. / November 08, 2017. / ArcNLET, Calibration, Nitrification/Denitrification, Nitrogen load estimation, Septic systems, Surface waterbody / Includes bibliographical references. / Ming Ye, Professor Directing Thesis; Xiaoqiang Wang, Committee Member; Sachin Shanbhag, Committee Member.

O uso intensivo da tecnologia nuclear contribuiu para o aumento das preocupações com as questões ambientais e sua segurança, acabando por despertar o interesse em toda sociedade. No Brasil, as atividades nucleares são regulamentadas pelo Conselho Nacional do Meio Ambiente (CONAMA). A primeira resolução CONAMA, no 001/1986, estabeleceu que as atividades nucleares deveriam ser licenciadas pela agência ambiental brasileira, ou seja, pelo Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Renováveis (IBAMA), independentemente da obrigatoriedade do licenciamento pela Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN). No licenciamento é preciso elaborar o Estudo de Impacto Ambiental (EIA), um conjunto de estudos realizados por especialistas de diversas áreas, com dados técnicos detalhados, e o Relatório de Impacto Ambiental (RIMA), que deve apresentar as conclusões do EIA de forma objetiva e adequado à sua compreensão. O principal mecanismo de participação direta da população na proteção da qualidade ambiental é a audiência pública. Ela tem como finalidade expor ao público as características do projeto e o conteúdo do EIA/RIMA. Durante a audiência pública os participantes podem fazer perguntas sobre o empreendimento e tirar dúvidas sobre como se dará o licenciamento. As audiências públicas são organizadas pelos empreendedores, consoante diretrizes emitidas pelo IBAMA. Sendo a audiência pública a etapa do licenciamento mais propícia a subjetividades, este trabalho é uma contribuição para a área a partir da avaliação crítica do modelo de audiência pública, atualmente adotado, para o licenciamento ambiental de instalações nucleares. / The intense use of nuclear technology has contributed an increase in concerns about environmental issues and safety, promoting the interest of society in the issue. In Brazil, nuclear activities are regulated by the Brazilian Environmental Council CONAMA. The first CONAMAs resolution nº 001/1986, establishes that the nuclear activities must be licensed by the Brazilian environmental agency, i.e., the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Resources - IBAMA, regardless of compulsory licensing by Brazilian Commission of Nuclear Energy - CNEN. Licensing is necessary to prepare the Environmental Impact Study - EIA, a set of studies performed by specialists from several areas with technical data in details, and the Environmental Impact Report - RIMA must reflect the EIA conclusions. This should be presented objectively and adequate to its understanding. The main mechanism of direct participation of the population in protecting the environmental quality is the public hearing. It aims to expose to the public the project characteristics and EIA and RIMA. During the Public Hearing, the participants may ask questions on enterprise and clarify doubts about how the licensing is. Public hearings are organized by entrepreneurs, according to guidelines issued by IBAMA. Whereas the public hearing is the most favorable licensing stage of the subjectivities, this study is a contribution to the area from the critical evaluation of the public hearing model currently adopted for the environmental licensing of nuclear.

Com a busca do novo posicionamento que as empresas têm sobre aspectos ambientais e sociais que as cercam, que colocaram, entre diversos setores, a agricultura em uma posição ambígua, essa pesquisa se voltou ao processo de implantação de práticas de gestão socioambiental. As empresas produtoras de suco de laranja, concentradas no Estado de São Paulo, foram selecionadas como setor de estudo devido às suas características econômicas, conforme a classificação de Tachizawa (2004), apresentando poder social e impacto ambiental relevantes. O foco do processo de implantação está nos motivadores, delimitados em mercado, sociedade e governo, como o referencial teórico de Buccholtz e Carroll (2009); e voltados à alta administração como proposto por Friedman (1970). As práticas de gestão socioambiental estão voltadas ao público interno e as comunidades no entorno das atividades das empresas, e observadas dentro das áreas funcionais de gestão de pessoas, finanças, marketing e produção. O estudo mostra a importância da postura dos fundadores, acionistas e alta administração na condução dos processos de implantação de práticas de gestão socioambiental; a similaridade nos processos de implantação na área ambiental e a necessidade de um relacionamento aberto com a sociedade para adequada implantação de projetos sociais. / In a search for a new position that companies have on environmental and social issues that surround them, which put agriculture in an ambiguous position, this research has turned from the implementation of practices social and environmental management. The producers of orange juice, concentrated in São Paulo, were selected as industry study due to their economic characteristics, according to the classification of Tachizawa (2004), with power relevant social and environmental impact. The focus of the deployment process is in motivating, delimited in the market, society and government, as the theoretical framework of Buccholtz and Carroll (2009), and aimed at senior management as proposed by Friedman (1970). Environmental management practices are geared to domestic and communities around the activities of enterprises, and observed within the functional areas of personnel management, finance, marketing and production. The study shows the importance of the stance of the founders, shareholders and senior management in driving the processes of implementation of environmental management practices, the similarity in the processes of implementation in the environmental area and the need for an open relationship with the company for proper implementation of social projects.