The international handbook of environmental technology management
edited by Dora Marinova, David Annadale and John Phillimore, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, 2007, 592 pp., £150 (hardback), ISBN 978‐1‐84064‐687‐0; paperback due to be published in October 2008, £45, 978‐1‐84844‐192‐7
This is an excellent textbook, suitable as a core text for environmental engineers and environmental scientists but equally it should, in my opinion, be compulsory reading for all researchers, practitioners, and policymakers regardless of their discipline because it has relevance for all. In fact, the book is so lively and understandable that everyone and anyone could and should read it. It shows how we could live in a more sustainable world through changing society and business practices and aspirations.
Clearly written by a team of recognised environmental authors drawn from around the world, it guides the reader through current thinking on the tools and techniques industry, and the commercial sector can utilise it to operate successfully while being financially viable, socially acceptable and environmentally less damaging. Social and Economic Policy and Strategy, including Green Marketing, are covered in detail as are environmental technologies. International case study examples, such as the use of environmental management systems in small businesses, make the text particularly interesting. Practical solutions achieved by real companies and organisations illustrate the validity of the technology and techniques described.
Barriers, (or challenges as the book calls them) to the implementation of new environmental technology are addressed and potential solutions discussed. Appraisal and discussion of design and appraisal tools and techniques include eco‐foot printing, eco efficiency, design for environment, life cycle assessment, environmental impact assessment and the natural step philosophy. Industrial ecological principles described cover industrial symbiosis, bio‐mimicry and green chemistry, all illustrated with industrial examples of products or services. Problems in technology transfer are discussed and illustrated using examples as diverse as women farmers in Africa and the construction industry in Australia. As an Academic, it is a delight to find a book to recommend that I know students will enjoy and one which addresses so many different elements of a diversity of university courses, while covering the most important areas of environmental technology and management. I am certainly using it to enhance and update the content of some of my own lectures.
Susan Haile
University Sustainability Advisor and Senior Lecturer, School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, The University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Newcastle, UK, [email protected]
© 2008, Susan Haile
Handbook of sustainable development
edited by Giles Atkinson, Simon Dietz and Eric Neumayer, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2007, 489 pp., £130, ISBN 978‐1‐84376‐577‐6
Published in 2007 this book describes the considerable progress in fleshing out issues in sustainable development since the publication of the influential Brundtland Report in 1987. The book is divided into seven parts, excluding the introduction, and there are 27 sections and a total of 32 contributing authors. It is disappointing that the authors are drawn from Western cultures and that there is no one to represent Japan, China or India, for examples. The seven parts are as follows:
Part 1: Fundamentals of Sustainable Development (5 chapters)
Part 2: Intergenerational Equity (3 chapters)
Part 3: Intergenerational Equity and the Social Dimension (3 chapters)
Part 4: Growth, Consumption and Natural Wealth (4 chapters)
Part 5: Progress in Meeting Sustainable Development (4 chapters)
Part 6: Sustainable Development at Different Scales (3 chapters)
Part 7: The International Dimension (4 chapters)
In such a short review, it is difficult to do the book justice but to give some sense of its scope. This reviewer has summarised a selection of five chapters.
In ‘Technological lock‐in and the role of innovation’, Chapter 9, it is suggested that the combined effects of technological and institutional ‘lock‐ins’ favour incremental changes rather than the radical changes needed to promote successful innovation. In the UK, such barriers may be preventing the take‐up of a wider range of renewable technologies. Timothy J Foxon proposes five guiding principles to support sustainable innovation policy.
In Chapter 16, ‘Sustainable consumption’, Tim Jackson addresses the importance of consumption in sustainable development and asks what determines the actions and choices of people? The author explores the social dimension of consumption and, whilst recognising the institutional view that continuing economic development is essential, asks the questions: could ‘economic consumption’ be de‐coupled from ‘material resource consumption’; and could consumers be continually persuaded to buy less materially‐intensive products?
In Chapter 21, ‘Sustainable cities and local sustainability’, Yvonne Rydin contends that there must be considerable scope for cities to support the aims of sustainable development, given that half of the human population resides in cities. She explores the opportunities for ‘local actions’ citing the role of local government through, for examples, ‘persuasion, building partnerships, and networks’. She also addresses the key aspects of urban sustainability and its relationship with globalised product and resource flows.
Rob Grey and Jan Bebbington, the authors of Chapter 23, ‘Corporate sustainability: accountability or impossible dream?’ present a sceptical view of the real commitment of corporations to sustainable development. They express concern that businesses advocate ‘eco‐efficiency’ when it is ‘eco‐effectiveness’ that should be the goal. The authors are disdainful of current ‘sustainability reporting’ and advocate ‘sustainable cost analysis’ and ‘sustainability gap analysis’ as more realistic measures of true corporate sustainability.
Are the economic benefits gained by a developing country through international trade obtained at a cost to the environment and sustainable development? Kevin P Gallagher addresses the relationship between international trade and sustainable development in Chapter 25. One encouraging view presented is that strengthening environmental standards in developing and developed countries alike will not deter foreign and domestic investments. This is because abatement costs are so small relative to other key costs that firms will not move to or from developing countries as regulation rises.
Is this a book for engineers? You will not find the terms ‘engineer’, ‘engineering’, ‘design’, ‘manufacture’, etc. in the index. However, there is a wealth of information and knowledge to support the engineer's need to understand the concepts and implications of sustainable development.
Finally, there is one chastening quote (p. 177): ‘one thing that seems increasingly certain is that the “science” of sustainability is not our greatest challenge. In almost all “areas” of sustainability, we know scientifically and technically what we need to do and how to do it; but we are not doing it.’
Allen Clegg
Centre for Sustainable Manufacture and Reuse/Recycling Technologies, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK; [email protected]
© 2008, Allen Clegg