Information Systems and the Environment (2001) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Information Systems and the Environment: Overview and Perspectives
Information Systems and the Environment: Overview and Perspectives
Pages 1-12
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 1... ...
As knowledge about the causes of environmental ills has grown, so too has the number of options on how to handle them and the development of collaborations and partnerships aimed at harnessing the growing incentive-based approaches to environmental protection. As additional information technologies and knowledge management techniques evolve, environmental considerations will join other areas of strategic importance to industry.
|
From page 2... ...
It contains selected papers from the July 1997 Workshop on Industrial Ecology, Enabling Environmental Performance Improvement: The Role of Knowledge and Information Technology. The papers are presented in three sections.
|
From page 3... ...
Solutions based on industrial ecology include such approaches as designing goods and services in terms of their environmental life cycle so as to minimize environmental impacts and defining, assessing, and charting future technological directions to enable the achievement of sustainable development. In industrial ecology, systems of production and consumption are considered as one.
|
From page 4... ...
The impacts of this revolution on the industrial metabolism of the economy and on industrial systems are being felt already, particularly in the monitoring and control of emissions; the use of energy and materials; the control of quality and inventory; and the improved control of manufacturing processes. Many of the energy-saving technologies and process changes that promote cleaner production depend on the incorporation of electronic sensors and monitors that provide input to control operations.
|
From page 5... ...
The information and communications revolution is forging a far more integrated economy. At the same time, addressing environmental and sustainability concerns requires a multidimensional approach that is interwoven with the global economy and the planet's natural systems.
|
From page 6... ...
Other laws, such as those related to trade secrecy and the tort of misappropriation, are equally ill-suited to protect the compilation of data. To address the common flaws intrinsic to the current intellectual property laws, Cohen and Martin suggest a two-phase approach that incorporates both property and liability.
|
From page 7... ...
Carberry shows how a vast array of information technologies such as e-mail, relational databases, CD-ROM, expert systems, Internet-based Web pages, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing is helping companies communicate environmental policies, exchange information about cleaner production technology, and report compliance data. In each instance, these new technologies provide for the rapid distribution or dissemination of environmental experiences, information, and knowledge that enhance technology transfer and enable companies to more effectively address compliance control and remediation.
|
From page 8... ...
The complexity tends to be a huge obstacle that impedes the progress towards individuals involved working together effectively. Yet there is a critical need for collaborative work in the larger arena beyond the firm, and several collaborative arrangements have emerged.
|
From page 9... ...
Like the collaborations in industry, the players involved in EDEN also had to agree on a framework of common approaches and a common terminology. This collaboration also illustrates the innovative use of InfoSleuth™, a new software technology that uses intelligent software agents to provide uniform access to specific sets of information on geographically distributed environmental databases through standard Internet browsers.
|
From page 10... ...
Costs that reflect environmental performance and the availability of capital to address issues will have immediate and powerful impacts on firm behavior; similarly, public concerns about a firm or a nearby facility can create significant costs and even force curtailment of operations or closure of the facility. As the chemical industry learned and responded to through the Responsible Care Programpublic accountability is an increasingly powerful reality of corporate life.
|
From page 11... ...
From an industrial ecology perspective, such knowledge can impact the design of products, engineering or reengineenng of ecological systems, communication with customers, understanding materials and energy flows, and research and development. Government support of academic research in this area can help identify new processes and techniques that enhance ecological objectives, articulate technical and management standards that reflect best strategic environmental approaches, and define criteria for determining environmental impacts and metrics of environmental performance.
|
From page 12... ...
72 FACES sprucer, P.~.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.