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Boiler Plant Operations
Published in Carl Bozzuto, Boiler Operator's Handbook, 2021
Some feel that a blowdown heat recovery system cannot be justified economically. That is usually an incomplete evaluation. If there is no blowdown heat recovery system, then valuable resources are being wasted. With the exception of low temperature hot water heating boilers, boiler blowdown is discharged to a flash tank where some of the energy in the high temperature water is used to convert some of the water to steam that is vented to atmosphere. The remaining water, now at 212°F, is conveyed to a drain. The Plumbing Code clearly restricts the temperature entering a drain to 140°F. Therefore, high quality drinking water is used to cool the hot water by dumping more water down the drain. This is referred to as quench water and it is normally high quality drinking water that goes down the drain to sewer along with the blowdown. The typical blowdown heat recovery system cools the blowdown to about 90°F, in which case quenching with fresh water is not required. When the cost of the additional water is considered, the economics of the heat recovery system usually work out. Further, as time goes on, there will be more emphasis on overall efficiency as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, potable water is becoming a prized resource that is not to be wasted. There is a Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) that prepares sustainability evaluations for companies. Wasting a prime resource such as potable water is not a good way to improve a sustainability score.
Integrating the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals into Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
Published in Karen Wendt, Green and Social Economy Finance, 2021
Judge and Douglas (1998) show that the GRI guidelines provide a useful tool to report and analyze financial and non-financial measures for corporate performance. Also, Weber et al. (2008) highlight some benefits of using the GRI as a reporting framework since it provides quantifiable indicators that are usable by decision makers. GRI guidelines have evolved towards a more standardized format, which aims at integrating the four pillars of reporting, namely: economic, social, environmental and governance (Kolk 2004, 2008). However, some scholars have argued that GRI standards lack an integrated framework as well as materiality. These limitations stem from existing deficiencies in sustainability accounting, particularly forward-looking techniques that could help monetarize risks and socio-ecological variables (Gray 2006). Also, the early versions of GRI guidelines lacked a standardized format, where corporations manipulate the selection of indicators to serve their greenwashing tactics.
Accounting
Published in Sigrun M. Wagner, Business and Environmental Sustainability, 2020
When introducing environmental sustainability to this corporate function, conventional accounting faces a challenge as it often uses narrow (financial) performance measures, and sustainability involves interconnected events for which companies are variously liable or by which they are affected (Blowfield 2013). Sustainability accounting and reporting can help to replace business-as-usual attitudes with a more balanced focus on the triple bottom line and not just on profitability as a success measure for business (Lodhia 2013). As many corporate initiatives never take off without accounting’s involvement, its role in greening an organisation is vital (Weybrecht 2014). Robertson (2017: 308) also emphasises that measurement – a key purpose of accounting – is “the key to getting sustainability work done”. Similarly, a company’s finance department can drive responsible and green business (Laasch and Conaway 2015).
Identification, ranking and prioritisation of vital environmental sustainability indicators in manufacturing sector using pareto analysis cum best-worst method
Published in International Journal of Sustainable Engineering, 2021
Abdul Gani, Mohammad Asjad, Faisal Talib, Zahid A. Khan, Arshad Noor Siddiquee
Singh et al. (2009) observed that indicators provide an important tool for sustainability assessment of the organizations. The indicators give useful insight about the state of sustainability of something (e.g. manufacturing) under consideration and also highlight challenges with respect to sustainability of a particular organisation or sector is facing (Newman & Jennings, 2008). These indicators furnish valuable to policy making and enables manufacturers, Governments, policy makers and scientific community to perform sustainability accounting and impact analysis.