The overall aim of this thesis is to increase the understanding of the relationship between standardised environmental management systems (EMSs) and the environment, focusing on the use of such systems by companies and on systems in accordance with the ISO 14001 and/or EMAS standards. Another purpose is to investigate how standardised EMSs fit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to examine a special EMS solution called the Hackefors model, used by a group of SMEs, to find out how this model has affected the environmental efforts and business of these enterprises.

To gather knowledge on the connection between EMSs and environmental impacts, two main roads have been followed. Firstly, empirical studies (and a few literature reviews) have been conducted, among other things, aiming to clarify how the standards' requirements are interpreted and applied in reality, and uncover what this means in terms of environmental impacts. For the most part, external environmental auditors and environmental managers have been interviewed. An important purpose is to illuminate what an ISO 14001 certificate, or an EMAS registration, guarantees. This means that the minimum level is emphasised to a large extent. Secondly, a literature review has been conducted to collect knowledge on the selected issue from the international research arena. One intention is that this review will contribute information about the average use of EMSs and thus serve as a good complement to the empirical studies.

It has to be concluded that a standardised EMS does not guarantee a good environmental performance and defmitely not reduced environmental impacts. Without any doubt, EMSs can be used to structure and strengthen a company's environmental efforts, and many companies surely have achieved important reductions in terms of environmental impacts by using an EMS. However, the standards' formulations are very indistinct and they can be interpreted and applied in many different ways. It is clearly possible to be certified and registered without improving very much at all. The effects of EMSs are to a very large extent dependent on how companies choose to use them. To capture the potential that EMSs have, issues of credibility should be observed. Therefore, the thesis includes some recommendations in the form of discussion points.

The Hackefors model clearly can be used to overcome many of the common barriers forimplementing an EMS at SMEs. In the studied case, the EMS implementation had led to severalimportant environmental improvements and also to other types of improvements.

This thesis aims to increase the understanding of what a standardised environmental management system (EMS) is, can be, and is not. The EMS infrastructure, i.e. the standards for EMSs and corresponding systems for their application, is analysed to find out how"ft affects the environmental efforts of companies. Furthermore, the topic of how standardised EMSs fit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is discussed. A special EMS solution used by a group of SMEs is examined to clarify how this model has affected the environmental efforts and business of these enterprises.

The thesis is based on three studies. Firstly, external environmental auditors were interviewed. Secondly, the environmental reviews for the group of SMEs were studied. This study also involved a literature review on how to measure environmental performance. Thirdly, the environmental co-ordinators working at the mentioned small enterprises were interviewed.

It can be concluded that it is too early to draw any general conclusions on how standardised EMSs affect environmental performance. How ISO 14001 is interpreted and applied is largely left to companies and external environmental auditors. In practise, 14001's requirement concerning continual improvement is often restricted to a few environmental aspects and does not say anything about the total environmental impact. Furthermore, there is an inconsistency in the standard text and its implementation concerning which criteria are approved when assessing environmental aspects. Some auditors allow the inclusion of criteria regarding economy and quality, etc. To ensure the credibility of ISO 14001, the standard and the systems for its application should be improved.

The EMS model studied seems to be a cost-effective solution for SMEs that removes the most important barriers for EMS implementation and maintenance at small firms. Also, it appears to have led to significant environmental improvements.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are an important group from an environmental point of view and they also have environmental requirements - including environmental management systems (EMSs) - imposed on them by larger companies. At Hackefors Industrial District in Sweden, 30 SMEs are co-operating on environmental issues; they have formed a network and established a joint EMS in accordance with ISO 14001. This is a unique strategy for the implementation of EMSs by SMEs. In this paper the EMS model used at Hackefors is presented and the resulting cost savings are analysed. Environmental improvements are also discussed briefly. It can be concluded that, by networking and implementing a joint EMS, the SMEs (mostly small and 'micro' enterprises) at Hackefors have established a rational and cost-effective solution that has facilitated both the implementation and maintenance of EMSs. Although the EMSs have only recently been certified, many environmental and commercial improvements have already been observed. Many of the companies have received positive responses from their customers and believe that the EMS improves their ability to obtain contracts relating to sales of products and/or services. Furthermore, the companies at Hackefors believe that having an EMS based on ISO 14001 results in positive commercial and environmental effects.

This paper discusses the connection between standardized environmental management systems and environmental performance, based on a case study. By comparing the environmental reviews for a group of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) before and two years after their EMS implementation, we try to show how the environmental performance of these firms has developed and draw some conclusions regarding the connection between standardized EMSs and environmental performance in general.

The case study illuminates some central aspects of ISO 14001's requirement of continual improvement. Taken together with the literature on this issue, it is clear that in practice a set of indicators are established and monitored, indicators concerning operations as well as management efforts. Hence, the selection of indicators is crucial. External environmental auditors should compare the development of these indicators and determine if an improvement has occurred or not. Naturally, this judgement by auditors is very important and difficult. The situation is very similar to the weighting step recognized as a problem in life cycle analysis, but the use of indicators for management efforts adds an additional dimension to this already intricate problem.

In Hackefors Industrial District in Sweden, 26 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have formed an environmental network and implemented a joint environmental management system (EMS) according to ISO 14001. Based on interviews with the environmental co-ordinators at these enterprises, the effects on business and environmental efforts and impacts are analysed.

It can be concluded that the joint EMS has resulted in better relations with important stakeholders, such as existing and potential customers. For example, three-fifths said that their EMS had made it easier to receive a contract for the sale of products and services. Several environmental improvements have been observed and are presented in the paper, many of which are considered as consequences of the EMSs. Moreover, based on observations during the study, this paper discusses how boundaries and screening affect the connection between EMSs and environmental performance.

The ISO 14001 standard leaves a lot to be interpreted by its users. As the standard is growing in popularity the external environmental auditors are becoming key players in the environmental arena. Through interpretations, they form the linkage between the standard document and its application in reality.

This study is based on interviews conducted with auditors representing all nine certification bodies in Sweden and at the board that accredits these firms. The paper presents how auditors interpret and apply central requirements of ISO 14001, with the aim to illuminate important issues from an environmental point of view.

It can be concluded that many important requirements are interpreted differently. There are disagreements regarding what criteria are approved when determining which environmental aspects are significant. Further on, the standard's requirement for continual improvement is normally transformed to improvements regarding a few ratios. The paper, amongst other issues, also deals with auditors' competence, their objectivity and their opinions about the efforts of certified organizations.

Artikeln finns på en cd-skiva med ISBN: 962-7589-25-X

Insamling, sortering och återvinning av uttjänta produkter är en snabbt växande industribransch. Det svenska samhällets kretsloppsanpassning har under 1990-talet medfört stora förändringar av samhällets avfallshantering. Nya lagar om vilket avfall som skall återvinnas tillkommer kontinuerligt. Denna kretsloppsanpassning i samhället har vanligen skett utan att några speciella krav har ställts på utformningen av produkterna eller på hur produkterna skall insamlas på bästa sätt för att kunna ta reda på materialet så effektivt och skonsamt som möjligt. Istället har man utgått från att de eventuella problem som kan uppstå när produkterna ska återvinnas får lösas när produkterna blir avfall och att producenterna via producentansvaret får ta kostnader och problem som uppstår i avfallshanteringen.

Samhället av idag står inför flera stora utmaningar när systemen för återvinning av produkter och material ska utvecklas. Studien har visat att frågor som rör arbetsförhållanden, ekonomi och effektivitet samt miljönytta bör behandlas på ett integrerat sätt när branschen utvecklas för framtiden.

Arbetsförhållandena för de som är verksamma inom återvinningsindustrin förväntas vara sådana att de anställda långsiktigt bibehåller god hälsa och välbefinnande. De arbetsplatser där avfallet sorteras och hanteras har utvecklats under kort tid och inom en avfallshanteringstradition där man inte utnyttjat kunskap från industrin och forskningen om arbetsplatsutformning och hantering av gods. Det finns påtagliga arbetsmiljöproblem i återvinningsbranschen som visar sig i statistiken både gällande olycksfall och arbetsrelaterade sjukdomar.

Konsumenterna får bära mycket av kostnaderna för materialåtervinningen dels genom ett högre pris på nya produkter de köper, dels genom att de står för en del av arbetet med sortering och transporterna av avfallet till återvinningscentraler eller återvinningsstationer samt vidare via avfallstaxan. För kommunerna kan ökad sortering av avfall också medföra ökade kostnader. Det är angeläget att hålla nere dessa kostnader genom god utformning av anläggningar för återvinning.

Syftet med denna förstudie var att identifiera förekommande problem- och utvecklingsområden inom återvinningsbranschen med focus på återvinningscentralernas roll.

Studien utformades som en kartläggande och utforskande studie. Datainsamlingen genomfördes på totalt 7 anläggningar som representerar olika delar av återvinningsbranschen varav fyra återvinningscentraler (i kommuner med 32 000 till 135 000 invånare). Två av dem byggdes på mitten av 1990-talet medan de andra två har utvecklats från soptippar. Tre av anläggningarna drevs direkt i kommunal regi eller som kommunägt bolag och ett drevs på entreprenad. Anläggningarna valdes för att ge en variation mellan återvinningscentraler från större kommuner såväl som mindre, och också för att representera olika typer och byggnadsår. Dessutom besöktes en elektronikdemonteringsanläggning, en fragmenteringsanläggning samt en anläggning för rekonditionering av vitvaror. Detta möjliggjorde att ett par avfallsfraktioner kunnat följas från återvinningscentralen till efterbehandling i nästkommande steg.

Besöken genomfördes av de forskare som är författare till denna rapport, och därmed representerade disciplinerna arbetsmiljö, hälsa, produktionssystem, säkerhet och miljö. Besöken inleddes med en presentation / rundvandring i anläggningen. Halvstrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med de anställda och besökare. Observationer genomfördes av hur olika aktiviteter genomfördes av besökarna såväl som av de anställda. Med hjälp av digitalkamera med videofunktion dokumenterades layouter, materialfraktioner, skyltning etc. samt vissa rörelsemoment. Relevanta dokument som fanns tillgängliga samlades in. Respektive besök genomfördes under en dag, under januari - mars 2003.

Återvinningscentralerna är ofta den första instansen för insamlandet av avfall och har en nyckelposition för hur avfallet kan hanteras på ett så produktivt och kostnadseffektivt sätt som möjligt. Det är därför viktigt att studera återvinningsproblematiken med ett helhetsperspektiv med utgångspunkt från såväl arbetsmiljö, säkerhet, produktionssystemutformning och yttre miljö. Vidare att betrakta återvinningscentraler utifrån en systemsyn, och se dess funktion också i relation till avnämarna, d.v.s. de behov och förutsättningar som efterföljande anläggningar i avfallskedjan har.

Studien kan konkluderas enligt följande:

Identifierade problemområden

• Det föreligger olika typer av arbetsmiljörisker i de olika stegen av avfallshanteringen.
• Vid återvinningscentraler idag finns risker för skada för de anställda såväl som för besökarna.
• Återvinningscentralen har identifierats att inneha en nyckelroll i hanteringen av avfall.
• Det brister i de ekonomiska incitament för förbättring av hanteringen av avfallet vid återvinningscentralerna.
• Det föreligger dålig kommunikation mellan de olika aktörerna i återvinningskedjan om hur avfallet hanteras i respektive led och vilka förväntningar man har på det inkommande avfallet. Incitamentsbristen och den därav försämrade kommunikationen påverkar såväl arbetsmiljön, kvaliteten som ekonomin i efterföljande led.

Utvecklingsområden

• Goda möjligheter finns att utforma och organisera återvinningscentraler så att risken för skada påtagligt minskar för såväl personal som besökare.
• Goda förbättringsmöjligheter finns att inom miljöområdet åstadkomma bättre sorteringskvalitet och därmed förbättra kvaliteten av det återvunna materialet.
• Genom en bättre industrialisering av återvinningscentralerna kan effektiviteten och ekonomin förbättras, samtidigt som det finns möjligheter att också förbättra arbetsförhållanden och miljö i återvinningssystemen som helhet. Vissa enkla åtgärder, t.ex. tydlig skyltning och information till besökarna, kan ge avsevärd förenkling av arbetet i återvinningscentralerna och även senare i återvinningskedjan.
• En bättre helhetsoptimering skulle erhållas genom förbättrad interorganisatorisk samverkan för ökad förståelse mellan de olika aktörerna i återvinningskedjan och därmed en bättre optimering av hur avfallet hanteras.

En återvinningscentral ett viktigt ansikte utåt för kommunen. Om utformningen är anpassad till besökarna kan en positiv attityd till återvinning skapas med positiva miljöeffekter och en bättre arbetsmiljö för de anställda som följd.

Design of products permits to yield goods and services to produce satisfaction on customers, which is measured as value. However, it is at this stage in which most of the environmental impact, from a lifecycle perspective, is added to the product. Eco-design aims at increasing value of products while reducing the burdens on the environment by means conscious design towards efficient use of resources. That efficiency, referred to as eco-efficiency, can be increased in a number of manners within environmental engineering. Traditionally, different fields have tackled materials, energy flows and products from different angles or approaches. In this thesis we describe Functional Sales (FS) and Industrial Ecology (IE) as examples of these. Within this latter, we put emphasis on Industrial Symbiosis (IS) and Eco-effectiveness. We consider these approaches are suitable to work in the framework of eco-design to increase ecoefficiency. By adding services to material products, and managing material and energy flows with a more ecological consciousness, we expect to increase value of products while reducing the impact on the environment.

To analyse this potential improvement, we developed a method involving a new eco-efficiency index (VERI), that recursively intends to ease decisions on possible eco-efficient alternatives. This index and its method are applied to a case study on management of olive oil supply in region of Murcia, Spain. Here, we propose three scenarios that will involve the implementation of FS and IE to compare the outcomes in value and environmental performance against an idealised current supply chain. The results obtained, although not accurate, suggest that FS and EI should be more taken into account in eco-design and, this latter, to also consider holistic viewpoints to find more eco-efficient alternatives for a product development.

With empirical evidence from Swedish companies, this paper analyses the phenomenon of corporate sustainability reporting (CSR) in general and the use of CSR guidelines developed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) in particular. The main questions at issue are why companies have chosen to use the GRI guidelines and how this has affected corporate social responsibility and environmental management. From interviews with all Swedish companies that use the guidelines, we have found that companies produce CSRs mainly to seek organizational legitimacy, and that the main reason for use of the GRI guidelines is an expectation of increasing credibility of the CSR, but also that it provides a template for how to design a report. Moreover, we have found that the CSR report and the GRI guidelines are of more help for internal than external communication at this stage of development. It could help corporations to learn about themselves and to see what has actually been done in the organization. In all, the GRI guidelines would have the potential for gaining visibility and control of the triple bottom line on a corporate level, but they are in need of further development, not least in relation to the issue of verification. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

This paper evaluates a project that promotes eco-design activities in small companies. Small companies have special needs when it comes to eco-design. Here I present a way of working that uses partnerships between small companies, authorities, consultants, and universities to promote such activities. The project addresses two connected parts: training and network activities as well as individual product development at each company. At the start, the companies were given advice about environmental work, eco-design, and life-cycle thinking. Before starting the eco-design activities, the project actively tried to find the right resources (consultants) needed for each company. The product development activities greatly differed between companies, depending on the type of project and the ambitions of the companies. After some time, we had more network meetings that included training, exchange of experience during the individual project work, and site-visits at companies in the project. The project was finalised by an official exhibition where the companies displayed new products or product ideas developed in the project. With support from the project, four companies developed a new generation of an existing product and introduced it on the market, one developed new concepts to be used in further development, two made initial work and changes on existing products, and finally one company developed a design tool to be used in coming eco-design-activities. These examples are now used for marketing eco-design activities in the work with regional economic development. This paper describes the network of actors, way of working, and outcomes of -Advantage Ecodesign-. In addition, the paper discusses how good examples can be used in the regional economic development and the importance of creating good partnerships to build a platform for continuous eco-design activities in small companies.

Utvärdering av kommunens lokala investeringsprogram för ekologisk hållbarhet 2001-2005

The ability of Lepista nuda to produce organically bound halogens was tested both in a laboratory study of a pure culture and in a field study. It was found that L. nuda caused an increase in the total amount of organically bound halogens in the study of a pure culture, but possibly because of large variance between replicates, no such increase could be detected in the field study. In addition, in both the laboratory and the field studies, low-molecular-weight organohalogens such as chlorinated benzaldehydes were detected in all samples affected by the fungus and the amounts were 0.2–82 μg/g d.w. These low-molecular-weight compounds correspond to approximately 30% of the increase in organohalogens detected in the laboratory study. It is suggested that the low-molecular-weight organohalogens detected, most likely are produced de novo by L. nuda and that production of such compounds followed by an incorporation into high-molecular-weight compounds is an explanation for the increase in amounts in the laboratory study.

This special issue is based on the international symposium Business and Industrial Ecology held alongside the 2003 Business Strategy and the Environment Conference in Leicester, UK. The main message is that the dominant natural science and engineering aspects of industrial ecology (IE) need to be linked to management and policy studies. IE has rapidly evolved into a new field with the concept of an 'industrial ecosystem' that uses the metaphor of sustainable ecosystems to provide innovative routes to change present unsustainable industrial systems. The editorial article identifies three themes as organizing categories in linking IE to management and policy studies. First, the systems and network philosophy of IE can be coupled with inter-organizational management studies to complement the more traditional intra-organizational environmental management. Second, management and policy studies complement descriptive IE studies of physical flows of matter and energy to produce prescriptive suggestions for how industrial systems can be moved through human action toward the vision of IE. Third, the metaphor is a source of inspiration and creativity in the transformation of management and strategic visions towards a new sustainability culture. © 2004 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Today, bulk materials, e.g. wood, plastic, steel, and concrete, are contaminated by hazardous substances such as heavy metals, causing environmental and resource problems during waste management. This thesis aims to contribute with knowledge about the relationships between small substance flows and large bulk material flows, thereby enabling the development of strategies that decrease such environmental problems during waste handling. For this purpose, Swedish recovered waste wood (R WW) and its contaminants were studied in detail. Due to their high toxicity, nondegradability, and frequent use in urban areas, the heavy metals zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), and mercury (Hg) were selected for study.

This thesis is mainly based on three studies. To start with, elemental fuel analyses of RWW were reviewed to accomplish a broad assessment of the elemental content in the waste and to define the general extent of contamination. Secondly, the sources for this contamination were tracked and identified by analysing the inflow of the studied substances via different products during the middle of the 20th century. Finally, different upstream strategies to handle R WW, here categorised as separation measures taken before the RWW enters the combustion plant, were compared and evaluated, determining how they would influence the environmental impact generated downstream in the current waste management system in Sweden.

It is concluded that current RWW has been substantially contaminated by all of the studied heavy metals during its lifetime in the technosphere. Furthermore, RWW of Swedish and European origin (Swedish combustion plants import RWW fuel from Europe) differ in their elemental composition. Swedish RWW contains more arsenic, zinc, chromium, copper, and nickel, whereas European waste displays higher concentrations of lead, cadmium, and mercury. For Swedish RWW, the main origin of this contamination is limited to a few sources, of which surface-treated and industrial preservative-treated wood constitute the most important ones. From a total metal flow perspective, it seems that the metal flows related to RWW are small compared to other metal flows in Sweden, except in the case of arsenic. Arsenic in RWW is of the same magnitude as other substantial flows in Sweden, such as a contaminant in coal.

Today, the management of RWW is mainly downstream-oriented, focusing on measures at combustion plants, such as dilution of contaminants and installing gas cleaning. In contrast to this downstream focus, the results from this thesis emphasise the importance of upstream separation strategies, which exhibit several environmental benefits compared to the current management. However, from a long-term perspective, all strategies suggested for improving the handling of RWW more or less shift pollution problems to the future. Hence, to accurately prevent environmental pollution, upstream strategies must be combined with measures taken further downstream in the current waste management system, permanently immobilising the hazardous substances. Again, upstream separation strategies are argued to be important since they decrease the volume problem, thereby enhancing implementation of such downstream immobilising strategies.

One crucial problem related to the task of decreasing environmental pollution and increasing resource efficiency is that many material flows are contaminated with hazardous substances. In this paper, the contamination of heavy metals in Swedish recovered waste wood is addressed. The main objective was to estimate the contribution of heavy metals from six selected pollution sources. It is shown that the occurrence of industrial preservative-treated wood, surface-treated wood, fastening systems, plastic waste, concrete, and soil explains most of the elevated concentrations of lead, chromium, zinc, copper, and arsenic. The sources for nickel, cadmium, and mercury arc more poorly understood, although several potential sources are identified. The included pollution sources differ in the extent of their integration to wood, which influences the possibility of removing them from the main waste flow. Two waste management approaches for obtaining less polluted recovered waste wood are discussed, and the possibilities and impediments for each strategy outlined.

This paper is based on an Internet-based questionnaire survey with both qualitative and quantitative questions was selected as the research method in order to collect data about designer-s experience of their used design methods and tools. The result is that the general formal follow-up and reflection on used design methods and tools is experienced as low and this implies a risk that inefficient design methods and tools are used. Even though design method and tool utilization represents more than half of the total working time, the number of different types of utilized design methods and tools are low. Despite the low degree of formal follow up, designers experience that most utilized design methods and tools to a high degree fulfills their experienced needs and contributes in making the final product better. Finally, the reasons why designers use design methods and tools can be concluded in three interlinked major overall reasons for designers to use design methods and tools. The design method or tool must - help to fulfill specified requirements of the prospective product, - reduce the risk that important moments in the product development process are forgotten, - reduce the total calendar time (from start to end) to solve the design task.

This paper describes experiences from several years of DfE studies at different manufacturing companies, as well as their strategies for approaching DfE. The general experience from the authors is that in order to make DfE truly utilized, it must become a "living part" of the company. To reach this point, it is important to obtain a strong commitment not only from the manufacturing company's management, but also from other DfE stakeholders throughout the company, at both the strategic and operational levels. DfE initiatives must be considered as a strategic issue and an investment in increased competitiveness. When summarizing all the experiences presented in this paper, a conclusion is that manufacturing companies often have a need for a general model that focuses on how to make "DfE thinking" a natural part of the company's way of doing business

The focus of this book is the consideration of environmental issues in engineering process and product design. It presents a selection of 30 papers ensuing from the 12th CIRP International seminar on Life Cycle Engineering. This book is of interest to academics, students and practitioners, specializing in environmental issues in mechanical engineering, design and manufacturing. This volume is recommended as a reference textbook for all researchers in the field.

Local authorities are important actors in the transition towards sustainable development. They can play important roles for the promotion of industrial ecology systems oriented management of resources and pollutants on the local and regional level. In this context, the method of substance flow analysis (SFA) has been argued to be supportive to municipal environmental management, although, performing an SFA is often time consuming and demands a great deal of work. It may be a task hard to fulfil on a regular basis for many local authorities. A crucial issue is, then, to what extent it is possible to learn from other SFA studies? Aiming to contribute to this understanding, this paper analyses comparative results of SFA case studies of the cadmium metabolism in three structurally different municipalities in Sweden. The analyses illustrate that in addition to specific knowledge gained from a single case study, there is also general knowledge that may constitute important information for environmental decision-making in other local authorities. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This thesis focuses on the issue of how to perform flow-oriented studies in order to become more useful for and adapted to local/regional authorities. Compared to traditional environmental monitoring and measurement of the state of the environment, flow-oriented studies are an attempt to broaden the approach to environmental concerns. However, until today, few studies explicitly consider the perspective of the company or authority that manages or is responsible for the stocks and flows that are being quantified. The flow-oriented studies have therefore mainly been used as inventory tools and the results are generally not applied in the process of environmental management.

This thesis present results from a case study where a cadmium inventory has been carried out from the perspective of local/regional authorities. The study was initiated from the county administrative board that had observed elevated concentrations of cadmium in sewage sludge originating from some of the municipalities in the region studied. However, the cadmium inventory showed that only a tiny share of the cadmium in the technosphere ended up in the sewage sludge, whereas the flows of cadmium to municipal solid waste was much more extensive. Only quantitative presentation of results does not necessarily provide sufficient information from a management perspective. Hence, based on the results and experiences of the case study, a tentative framework for the interpretation of results from flow-oriented studies is suggested. This open framework includes five aspects: quantities, exposure, resource economy, function and potentiality for influence. Cadmium in sewage sludge exemplifies a flow without function that is difficult for local authorities to influence by direct means.

Flow-oriented studies could most likely benefit the local/regional authorities by contributing with important knowledge for their environmental work. One way of increasing the usefulness of the studies, is considering aspects of management in the early stages of the study. Furthermore, adaptation to the condition of individual local/regional authorities in choice of system boundaries and systems components will increase the usefulness of flow-oriented studies.

Biogas production is synonymous with Linköping, as an increasing number of internationalvisitors are coming to the region to learn of the biogas system in place. Moreover, Linköpingis a world leader in the production, distribution and research on biogas. Since the 1990s,Linköping, Sweden has been developing a biogas system which is benchmarked worldwide.This system has grown rapidly, and has the potential to expand even further in Sweden andabroad. Many of the leading biogas development industrial actors originate and call Linköpingtheir home. Technologies from this region have thus begun to spread worldwide, as many ofthe benchmarking practices have concluded that the system could provide parallel benefits tocommunities abroad.The biogas system thus provides many examples of a budding large technical system.However, just as other large technical systems, there are obstacles to overcome and the biogassystem, which is relatively recent, has a long way to go before it is able to dominate themarket. Moreover, large technical systems as such owe a great deal to both the technical aswell as the social systems enabling their success. Nonetheless, the biogas system is thusanalyzed an up-and-coming large technical system with force to prevail and expand nationallyand globally.

The concept of sustainable development has become widespread amongst government agencies, politicians, corporations and other organizations throughout the world. As a response to the challenge of sustainable development, Swedish corporations have shown a growing interest in integrating their efforts regarding management of environmental, quality related and social issues. Companies in the engineering industry are particularly active in this area. This paper describes the paths three world leading Swedish engineering corporations have taken in their striving towards sustainable development, and analyses why and how they are integrating their different management systems. We finally analyse and discuss, from a theoretical point of view with focus on subjects as well as methods of management, whether these integrated management systems in use can support the companies in their management of sustainability. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.