As the demand for energy increases, competition for a sustainable alternative to non-renewable energy resources has resulted in the growth of the photovoltaic industry. Although most photovoltaic technologies are based on crystalline silicon, thin film technologies have been developed with the expectation of generating a comparably high-performing product with lower processing costs. These materials have demonstrated sufficiently high optoelectronic performance to enable commercialization but concerns such as material scarcity limit terawatt level power production.<div><br></div><div>In the continuous pursuit of earth abundant solar absorber materials appropriate for thin film technologies, enargite Cu3AsS4 has been identified as a promising material due to its ideal direct band gap, stability, and high absorption. Recent efforts have demonstrated this class of copper chalcogenides exhibits band gap tunability and has solution processing capabilities for potentially scalable manufacturing. Furthermore, recent first-principles calculations of enargite Cu3AsS4 have hypothesized this material may have high carrier mobility and defect-tolerant optoelectronic properties, which further support investigation into this material. <br></div><div><br></div><div>In this dissertation, a novel reactive deposition processing route has been developed which has produced dense, single-phase enargite thin films. A champion device efficiency of 0.54% was achieved following a post deposition etching procedure on these films, which demonstrates the density and observable secondary phases were not limiting to initial nanoparticle-based device performances. Together with recent modeling efforts, the non-ideal band alignment with both the back contact and diode junction is concluded to be the primary limiting factor for high efficiency devices. <br></div><div><br></div><div>As this technology contains arsenic, concerns have been raised about its potential carcinogenicity and toxicity. Similar concerns were raised during the development of cadmium telluride technology, but these concerns have been mitigated through careful life cycle analyses and identifying strategies for responsible life cycle management. Therefore, a life cycle analysis and two risk assessments have been completed on Cu3AsS4 systems. Although emissions of arsenic and its contributions to life cycle impacts are expected to be low due to the small quantity required, hot spots have been identified to reduce waste and emissions. Reduction strategies for this material system are found to be applicable to other PV systems and include minimizing molybdenum sputter waste, reusing and recycling balance of system components, and investigating low-energy processing routes on thin substrates. This work serves to establish a basis on which the potential environmental implications of this thin film technology are understood. <br></div><div><br></div><div>This dissertation will serve as a guide toward the technical and environmental development of Cu3AsS4 thin films. Having a life cycle perspective during the systematic development of a technology will enable sustainable engineering. Furthermore, the processing and characterization methods detailed herein are expected to be generally applicable to other copper chalcogenide systems. <br></div>

This dissertation addresses the problem of how to manage environmental resources to improve the prospects that resource allocation activities will make the greatest possible contribution to social well-being. The study had two major aims. One aim was to provide a rational philosophical framework for guiding resource evaluation and decisionmaking processes. The second - and principal - aim was to develop a reliable and practical method for evaluating those resource allocation proposals which are particularly controversial. As part of the philosophical framework, a modification of the social welfare function is specified which explicitly addresses the well-being of future generations. This form of the social welfare function is based on certain a priori premises, which are used to define the goal and objectives of resource allocation, and to identify appropriate evaluation criteria. These evaluation criteria are then used to devise a resource management strategy and to develop an environmental evaluation methodology to serve that strategy. The methodology consists of both formal and informal methods of evaluation, but special attention is given to developing a formal method of evaluation that is simple and inexpensive to apply, and therefore particularly suited for Third World conditions. The principal research objective was to develop a useful method for evaluating those resource allocation proposals which are especially controversial. The method that has been developed - the Panel Evaluation Method - utilizes a cost-benefit framework and employs procedures modeled on the Delphi Method. The Panel Evaluation Method features three techniques for accomplishing a formal evaluation of competing proposals: the Impact Identification Technique is used to identify and define all the impacts of concern; the Significance Measurement Technique is used to judge the relative significance of the impacts; and the Criteria Trade-off Technique is used to determine which proposal best satisfies specified evaluation criteria. The Panel Evaluation Method was applied to several case studies with positive results. For example, the central feature of the method - the Significance Measurement Technique - was found to be capable of producing reasonably replicable results, and so is considered to provide an acceptable way to determine whether the costs of a proposal would exceed its benefits. The method thus serves to extend the capabilities of both Environmental Impact Assessment and Cost-benefit Analysis, and to link these two widely-used tools for guiding resource allocation decisions into a more powerful and versatile decisionmaking tool.

The shifting tendency of environmental conflict of some specific projects from post-conflict to pre-conflict is taking place in China. The main reason is that the public raises awareness of environmental consequences and makes more transparence information exchanged among stakeholders. Therefore the authorities have to face the new challenges and figure out new solutions to handle the changing circumstances. One of the recent conflicts regarding Panyu’s incineration project is selected as a typical example analyzed in this report. This case indicates three main argued focal points at environmental perspective of project implementation which are currently unsatisfied in China’s society: 1. Failure of EIA making &amp; approving system; 2. Inadequate public participation on the decision-making process; 3. Imbalance in stakeholders’ pattern of the project implementation process. This thesis have explored China’s EIA reports’ making, examining and approving system through investigation on its administrative, legislative and operational framework. The work was carried out during my internship in Safety Center of Henan Science Academy of Environmental Protection. The investigation also includes several interviews with different stakeholders of Panyu’s case. Based on the theoretical and empirical research, the thesis pointed out the root of defects of the existing EIA system in China is: 1. Public’s opinions can’t be truly reflected on the EIA report in the EIA making process; 2. Other stakeholders’ interests seriously affected the justice of EIA examination and approval process. The recommended approaches for improving the system include: 1. Strength public participation process to allow as much affected neighbors to realize the project and reflect their perception to decision-makers as possible; 2. Improve current EIA examination and approval procedures in order to weak the linkage between government and business sector. 3. Enhance the cooperation between environmental authority and other administrative board.

No description available.

Digital marketplaces gained increased importance in the circular economy. Although their economic benefits are a popular subject in present literature, research is scarce on their environmental impact. Since economic motivations often collide with environmental motivations on digital marketplaces within the circular economy, rebound effects can occur. Therefore, it is crucial for companies to continuously evaluate the environmental value of their service. Consequently, this thesis aims at creating a framework to identify the environmental impact of digital marketplaces within the circular economy. Two important questions had to be answered in this research: How environmental impact assessment and user behavior can be combined to identify factors that influence the environmental impact of such digital marketplaces and how these factors can be incorporated into a framework. Based on a review of relevant literature on circular economy, environmental impact assessment and user behavior, a single case study was conducted on the digital marketplace of the urban logistics startup Tiptapp. Qualitative data was gathered by interviewing users. Respondents were divided into two groups depending on their role on the platform: ‘helpers’ (supply) and ‘advertisers’ (demand). The results indicated that mainly three factors influence the environmental impact: user behavior, user flow and direct interactions, and external factors. By designing the framework to outline the influencing factors and their relationship, an initial foundation has been built for digital marketplaces and their providers to evaluate the environmental impact of their services and to actively counteract concealed rebound effects. Future research is needed to facilitate generalizability of the proposed framework as well as data integration and accurate impact calculations. / Digitala marknadsplatser har ökat i betydelse för den cirkulär ekonomin. Även om deras ekonomiska fördelar är ett populärt ämne i nuvarande litteratur är forskning om deras miljöpåverkan knapp. Eftersom ekonomiska motiv ofta kolliderar med miljömässiga motiv på digitala marknadsplatser inom den cirkulära ekonomin kan rebound-effekter uppstå. Därför är det avgörande för företag att kontinuerligt utvärdera miljövärdet av deras tjänster. Följaktligen syftar den här studien till att skapa ett ramverk för att identifiera miljöpåverkan av digitala marknadsplatser inom cirkulär ekonomi. Två viktiga frågor måste besvaras i denna forskning: Hur miljökonsekvensbedömning och användarbeteende kan kombineras för att identifiera faktorer som påverkar miljöpåverkan av sådana digitala marknadsplatser och hur dessa faktorer kan integreras i ett ramverk. Baserat på relevant litteratur om cirkulär ekonomi, miljökonsekvensbedömning och användarbeteende har en fallstudie genomförts på den digitala marknadsplatsen Tiptapp, som är ett urbant logistik-startup. Kvalitativa data samlades in genom att intervjua användare. De svarande delades in i två grupper beroende på deras roll på plattformen: "helpers" (utbud) och "advertisers" (efterfrågan). Resultaten indikerade att främst tre faktorer har påverkan på miljön: användarbeteende, användarflöde och direkta interaktioner samt externa effekter. Genom att utforma ett ramverk för att beskriva de påverkande faktorerna och deras förhållande har en första grund byggts. Detta för att digitala marknadsplatser och deras leverantörer ska kunna utvärdera miljöpåverkan av deras tjänster och aktivt motverka dolda rebound-effekter. Framtida forskning behövs för att underlätta generaliserbarhet av det föreslagna ramverket samt dataintegration och exakta konsekvensberäkningar.

The increasing focus on sustainability necessitates careful planning of future construction projects, with human health and biodiversity being key factors to protect. Planning projects with significant environmental impacts must conduct an environmental impact assessment, which involves identifying potential environmental effects and propose sustainable measures. The aim of the study was to examine how urban and rural municipalities described and assessed sustainability in environmental impact assessments for residential areas. Using thematic analysis, categories such as climate, localization, and environmental goals were established and divided into representative themes. Chi2-tests were used to test statistical significance between the municipal groups. The results revealed significant differences in two climate-related themes and one localization theme. Municipalities primarily utilized various types of stormwater management to adapt projects to climate changes and incorporate green infrastructure. The differences between municipal groups are likely influenced by factors like population density, resources, and surrounding environment. While national environmental goals were included in all environmental impact assessments, did not all proposed plans take them into account Future studies could include a larger sample to enhance reliability and consider underlying factors that may affect municipal conditions.

Environmental Impact Assessment stands as a crucial tool in the realm of sustainable development, serving to evaluate the potential environmental implications of proposed projects. While Environmental Impact Assessment processes are widely adopted across nations, their efficacy continually evolves in response to contemporary challenges. This study delves into the effectiveness of EIA procedures, focusing on the Environmental Impact Assessment report of the Mullikulam on-shore wind farm project in Sri Lanka. Initially, the research scrutinizes the criteria for assessing the effectiveness of EIA through desk review and content analysis. Subsequently, it employs a comprehensive checklist to evaluate the effectiveness of the Environmental Impact Assessment report of the said wind farm project, analyzing its adherence to key effectiveness criteria. This evaluation extends to comparative analysis, encompassing two additional Environmental Impact Assessment reports concerning on-shore wind farms in other countries. While the study's objective is to critically evaluate the effectiveness of the Environmental Impact Assessment report of the Mullikulam wind farm project, findings indicate notable deficiencies, particularly concerning site selection, mitigation strategies, and stakeholder engagement. By highlighting these shortcomings, the research underscores the imperative for improvements in EIA practices to enhance effectiveness. The study contributes valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders involved in EIA processes, advocating for enhancements to ensure stronger environmental assessments in future projects.

Klimatförändringar, en ökande urbanisering samt en degraderad biologisk mångfald är utmaningar som gör att våra samhällen behöver anpassas och ställa om genom hållbara lösningar. Naturen kan hjälpa oss med flera av dessa utmaningar, tack vare det som kallas ekosystemtjänster (EST). EST är de nyttor, i form av tjänster och produkter, som naturen tillhandahåller människan vilka bidrar till vårt välmående och vår välfärd. Genom att lyfta fram ett EST-perspektiv i planering och beslutsfattande kan hållbara lösningar främjas för att möta framtidens behov, och för detta har miljöbedömningar identifierats som lämpliga verktyg. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur väl ett EST-perspektiv i dagsläget integreras i miljöbedömningar, samt vilka utmaningar och förbättringsmöjligheter det finns för arbetet framgent. Detta har undersökts med konsultens roll i fokus. Metoden har involverat en litteraturstudie, en dokumentgranskning där miljöbedömningar för detaljplan har granskats, samt en mindre intervjustudie. Resultaten tyder på att konsulten har stor möjlighet att initiera ett EST-perspektiv i miljöbedömningar, och eventuellt även ett ansvar. Dock har ett antal utmaningar identifierats som gör att EST-perspektivet till stor del blir projekt- och kundberoende. En första utmaning är att termen ekosystemtjänster inte finns med i lagtext, vilket gör att den generella uppfattningen är att det inte finns tydligt ställda krav på att inkludera EST i miljöbedömningar. Detta gör i sin tur att ett EST-perspektivet sällan efterfrågas, varken av beställare eller Länsstyrelsen. På grund av detta läggs inte tillräckliga resurser på detta arbete. En andra utmaning är att det i dagsläget inte finns något standardiserat arbetssätt för att systematiskt arbeta med EST i miljöbedömningar. Arbetet framgent behöver därför fokusera på att ta fram ett sådant arbetssätt, så att EST kan integreras i miljöbedömningar på ett effektivt och träffsäkert sätt, och därigenom bidra till mervärden för miljöbedömningen genom ett holistiskt perspektiv. Denna studie har tagit fram ett antal rekommendationer för hur detta arbetssätt skulle kunna utformas. / Climate change, an increasing urbanization and a degraded biodiversity are challenges that force our cities to adapt to new conditions, by implementing sustainable solutions. Nature can help us handle these challenges by something called ecosystem services (ES). ES are benefits provided by the ecosystems - through services and products - which contribute to human well-being. By adopting an ES perspective in planning and decision-making we can promote sustainable solutions to meet the future needs. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) have been identified as suitable tools for this. The aim of this study is to examine how well an ES perspective is integrated in environmental assessments today, and to identify challenges and improvements for this work. This has been examined with the role of the consultant in focus. The methods of the study include a literature review, a document analysis where SEAs for detailed development plans are reviewed, and an interview study. The results indicate that the consultant has a large possibility to initiate an ES perspective into the EIA and SEA processes, and possibly also a responsibility of doing so. Furthermore, it has been shown that ES can contribute to added value to the environmental assessments through a holistic perspective. However, several challenges have been identified which makes the ES perspective dependent on the conditions of the project as well as the client’s ambitions. A first challenge is that the term ‘ecosystem service’ is not included in legislation. Because of this ES are seldomly asked for, neither from the clients nor the county administrative board, which are two important actors for setting the scope of the assessment. Consequently, not enough resources are allocated to the work of integrating an ES perspective. Another challenge is that there is no standardized method of systematically implementing an ES perspective into the assessments. Thus, future work needs to focus on developing this methodology, in order to integrate ES into the assessments in an effective and accurate way. The study presents a set of recommendations on how to develop the future work.

This dissertation critically reviews the quality of South African environmental authorisations through the application of a methodology adopted from the Lee and Colley (1999) environmental impact assessment (EIA) report review package. The literature review shows that to date limited research has been conducted on the quality of environmental authorisations nationally. Anecdotal evidence suggests that environmental authorisations are of weak quality; hence the development of guidelines on the compilation of environmental authorisations by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). In this dissertation, the quality of the environmental authorisations is critically reviewed against the requirements of the National Environmental Management Act (Act No. 107 of 1998) and departmental guidelines. The research concludes that only 64% of reviewed authorisations are deemed satisfactory, while 36% were unsatisfactory. When the basic assessment report (BAR) and scoping and environmental impact assessment (S&EIA) process authorisations are compared it is concluded that the there is a minimal difference in quality. The BAR achieved a 69% satisfactory rating while the S&EIA process achieved a 61% satisfactory rating. The dissertation concludes by making recommendations to improve the quality of authorisations. / M (Environmental Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Sustainable development is described by the World Commission on Environment and Development as ―development that meets the needs of present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs‖. Sustainability assessments are an integrative process and framework for effective integration of social, economic and ecological considerations in significant decision-making processes. Sustainability is incorporated into South African legislation such as the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996), the National Environmental Management Act (Act 107 of 1998), as well as Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations. Despite the existence of such legislation, the challenge lies in the effective implementation of the EIA process, which has been identified as a useful tool in striving towards achieving sustainable development. This research uses Gibson‘s eight sustainability principles and Gaudreau and Gibson‘s sub-criteria to develop a case specific set of sustainability criteria for coal fired power stations in South Africa. The energy generation sector is a major source of social and environmental impacts. Coal power stations contribute to environmental degradation such as reduced air, water and land quality. This industrial process impacts on the environment and therefore needs to strive towards sustainable development by considering these criteria during the EIA process. The set of case specific sustainability criteria for power stations was then used to evaluate the EIA developed for Medupi Power Station in South Africa in order to assess, the extent to which sustainability was considered in the EIA process. The key finding is that sustainability is incorporated into South African legislation hence no change in legislation is required. Despite the existence of legislation, the challenge lies in the fact that is it not always effectively implemented. The EIA process is seen as a tool that can effectively deliver sustainability outcomes. However this process is not effectively utilised. In order for the EIA to consider sustainability the focus needs to be on the following criteria: Intragenerational Equity; Precaution and Adaptation for Resilience; as well as Immediate and Long term Integration, as these were recognised as weaknesses after the evaluation process. The recommendation is also to develop a set of case specific sustainability criteria for other large industries that have significant environmental impacts. / MSc (Environmental Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015