Excess soil and stone is regularly generated at development and construction sites.  Sometimes the soil and stone is from greenfield sites and contains no anthropogenic contamination.  Other times, the soil and stone is from brownfield sites – ranging from sites that simply had buildings on them to sites that are heavily contaminated with industrial or...

The ESRI report, Environment Review 2012, presents projections of environmental emissions such as greenhouse gases, waste generation, and nutrients from agriculture covering the period to 2030. Greenhouse Gas Emissions:  Ireland will comply with its Kyoto Protocol target covering the period 2008-2012 but compliance with longer term targets will be much more difficult.  Without significant policy...

In recent years, strict legislation was introduced to control the amount of nitrate and phosphate that runs into the sea from European rivers.  However, water quality has not improved as much as expected and researchers estimate that a time lag of up to 40 years may need to be considered. Excess nutrients can cause an unnatural...

The European Commission has proposed to boost innovation to deal with water related challenges by creating a European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Water. The EIP on Water will seek to align the activities and outcomes of existing European, national and regional activities. Anticipated outputs of the EIP on water include: Innovation sites to identify barriers...

The eco-innovation briefs are short reports highlighting selected findings from the Eco-Innovation Observatory (EIO) reports and analysis. Eco-Innovation Scoreboard: the 2011 Results The Eco-Innovation Challenge: Pathways to a resource efficient Europe The Eco-Innovation Scoreboard at a glance Eco-Innovators in Europe: Focus on Materials Innovation for Sustainable Water Introducing eco-innovation: from incremental changes to systemic transformations...

Concerns for sustainable urban development include: Increases in water consumption The urban heat island (UHI) effect, whereby building materials in cities, such as concrete and asphalt, retain heat and create local warming. A study in the United States has suggested that: Urban sprawl resulted in an increase in evaporation and therefore external water consumption.  As water evaporation...

Reports are great when they are accurate, to the point and understandable Documentation and reporting are fundamental to the management of environmental requirements. Technical Review Environmental Sustainability Cost-Benefit Analysis License Application and Review Environmental Compliance Environmental Liability Risk Assessments ECOS prepares and presents reports to assist clients to meet their corporate and legal requirements.  We...

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is a key initiative aimed at improving water quality throughout the EU. The Directive: Applies to rivers, lakes, groundwater, and coastal waters. Requires an integrated approach to managing water quality on a river basin basis; with the aim of maintaining and improving water quality. Requires that management plans be prepared...

The Nitrates Directive aims to reduce and prevent water pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources, with the primary emphasis on the management of livestock manures and other fertilisers.  The main provisions of this directive are: To monitor and identify polluted waters or water liable to pollution from agricultural nitrates To promote the code of...

A new Joint Research Centre (JRC) report provides key information for policy makers and business managers on how to assess the environmental impacts of products and services through more consistent and better quality life cycle assessments. Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) helps to assess the sustainability of supply chains, use, and end-of-life management options for goods...