Indirect benefits of P2 technical assistance estimated using fuzzy set theory
Abstract Twenty small-to-medium sized business clients who had been previously provided pollution prevention (P2) technical assistance were studied to account for four difficult to quantify indirect benefits. The difficult to quantify benefits studied were reduced operational costs, regulatory burden, future liabilities and time saved from the research or technical assistance provided. Many (70%) clients who implemented new technologies realized operating cost reductions. Frequently (70%) clients who implemented P2 suggestions that reduce the disposal of hazardous waste realized reductions in regulatory burden and future liabilities. Most (90%) clients perceived that the research assistance saved their staff time. On average, clients in this study realized indirect savings of similar magnitude to their direct savings regardless of the scale or type of assistance. This study illustrates the value realized by a business of indirect benefits from pollution prevention implementation, which is particularly important now that publicly traded U.S. companies must disclosure financially significant environmental liabilities.
Motivations of Program Partners for Environmental Sustainability and Persistence of Benefits
AbstractIt is becoming more common for sustainability-related engineering classes to engage in various forms of service and project learning activities that provide assistance to partners. However, few efforts have examined the relationship between the types of partners and the motivations for implementation of the sustainability recommendations to provide a larger context to students. The partners in pollution prevention program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln completed an analysis of past partners and found that those in the manufacturing sector were more likely to provide direct financial savings justifications for pollution prevention and sustainability implementation, whereas the public institutions and other businesses were more likely to also cite social factors. An analysis of implemented recommendations found that there was a wide variation in implementation rates and the frequency with which benefits persisted beyond one year for different categories of implemented recommendations. For exa...
Research requirements to reduce maintenance costs of civil helicopters
The maintenance problems faced by the operators of civil helicopters that result in high costs are documented. Existing technology that can be applied to reduce maintenance costs and research that should be carried out were identified. Good design practice and application of existing technology were described as having a significant impact on reducing maintenance costs immediately. The research and development that have potential for long range reduction of maintenance costs are presented.