Environmental engineering and environmental management support sustainable development in industry.

Wessely, Emil ; Vargova, Jana ; Paulikova, Alena 等

1. INTRODUCTION

The idea of sustainable development began in Slovakia by the introducing of the new study programs with environmental orientation. There were study fields: "Environmental Engineering" and "Environmental Management". In this context there was the sustainable development at the institutional level divided into two major levels--one--more technical--oriented on technology (cleaner, green, low-waste, etc.). The second level is oriented in organisation and management of companies (EMS, LCA, etc.)

2. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

As the new science discipline, after Velvet Revolution in Central Europe Region, Environmental Engineering (EI) aimed predominately in the areas which support prevention protection in indoor and outdoor environment. Now, there are also other technical devices and facilities which eliminate or decrease partially impacts of environment.

Another area of environmental engineering covers applied technologies and techniques or methodology of measurement, therefore process characteristics. Indoor environment according to environmental engineering approaches means a subset of the whole environment. Further subsets are created ecosystems and natural resources.

2.1 Protection equipment in outdoor environment

Preventive protective facilities and devices of environmental engineering for outdoor environment have got rather prohibitive quality and it is possible to divide it into the following categories:

* For atmospheric protection (e.g. monitoring, filter device, measuring stations)

* For hydrospheric protection (e.g. flow channels, zones)

* For pedospheric protection (e.g. impermeable membranes, collection containers)

* For biospheric protection (e.g. labels with predator patterns on the noise protection glass barriers)

2.2 Protection equipment in indoor environment

In this category there are predominately internal working facilities which involve working microclimate and personal protection working means. We can divide them into the following categories:

* For working microclimate protection (e.g. digesters, air conditioning systems)

* For elongation of durability for industrial waters, cooling and lubrication media (e.g. filters, magnetic and separation devices, circulation networks, deposition barrels)

* For human protection (e.g. respirators, working shoes, protection shelters, etc.) (Zelenakova, 2006).

2.3 Elimination equipment in outdoor environment

The used devices for decreasing and elimination of negative impact in outdoor environment are divided similarly as at the protection but they have got more ending character. Sometimes they have also got double application: protective-eliminative, so pre- and post- process. In this group of device there are mainly filters, collection and separation containers. The waste water treatment plants, incineration plants for solid waste elimination, sorption colons, sludge pumps, etc. belong among main representatives of elimination devices. (Kadukova, 2008).

2.4 Elimination equipment in indoor environment

Among these devices there are mainly the sorption pads and mats, mobile devices for cleaning of technological liquids, cleaning jellies and other chemicals, collection containers and palettes without or with packing devices or press, etc.

Predominately the cleaning pastes, protection creams, nasal jellies, eye drops, wet paper handkerchiefs, towels, etc. belong among personal devices.

2.5 Technological processes in indoor environment

In any industrial area for sustainable development there is the one of key marks of environmental level of production process the optimal choice and utilisation of technological operations or technologies, methodologies of monitoring and measurements (Rudy, 2003).

The green technology, cleaner production, environmental- friendly techniques are frequent description terms for determination of acceptable environmental processes, which are applied in industry or their introduction is expected or desired for sustainable development of industrial production.

3. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

Environmental management (EM) deals with the fields which to suggest organisational, control, checking and archiving technologies, to reinforce skills and other activities for creation of environmental plans as well as meaningful communication (Chovancova & Rusko, 2007).

It seems that environmental management in comparison with environmental engineering is less practical and performs most of its activities, so called, "only on the desk" but just it is not true in present production and assembly enterprises. Environmental management became the effective tool for application of environmental demands in industry.

3.1 Strategy and planning

An accepted strategy in EM is obliged for industrial enterprise and is declared in all levels of management. There are mainly activities which influence working indoor and outdoor environment. Planning involves direct stepping and timing of environmental strategy.

3.2 Organisation and auditing

Every industrial operational plant is characterised its organisation structure which is understood as the whole or only a part according to used methods of evaluation. Organisation has got human, production and financial sources as well as systems of assessment -- auditing. (Estokova, 2007)

3.3 Integration

In environmental management the integration has got special techniques to integrate environmental arrangements into other aspects of industrial operational system. There are human legislative protection, research and development of products, market analysis, marketing, financing and others.

3.4 Monitoring a recording

This group contains of the monitoring, measurement and archiving or recording of result for all production, assembly and other specific activities.

3.5 Communication

For all employees internal communication and programmes of trainings ensure suitable understanding of their working tasks whether production, assembly or management items for protection of indoor and outdoor environment.

External communication covers public relations. That solves the interactions in a concrete industrial operational plant and outdoor environment, so external world. Communication is used in all matters which operation plant influence on environment.

4. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The sustainable development covers in industrial area three basic pillars: environmental, economical and social.

A priority is economical dimension of development ahead of social and environmental ones. However, it is necessary to realise that in closed systems of limited natural sources it is not possible to have quantitative economical development. Therefore we cannot derive from a model of consumer society and cannot identify it only with an idea of permanent sustainable traditional economical growth. The starting point can be only the new quality of growth based on prevention of pollution in indoor and outdoor working environment, closed material and energy cycles and non-waste technologies.

At the same time we have to leave old consumer culture and find the new culture of consumption, based on conscious material modesty and waste recycling like secondary raw materials.

In environmental area there is the continuing deepening of global problems:

* Global warming of atmosphere and green-house gases accumulation,

* Ozone layer thinning away with all negative impacts,

* Ignoring ecological laws.

Social dimension of sustainable development is equally deepened problems: the obsolence of population and social variances. The social exclusion, decreasing of social security and making worse of health quality in working environment cannot be an attendant phenomenon of sustainable development.

Environmental dimension of sustainable development does not bring significant improvement of indoor working environment in many operation plants. The excessive high creation of waste, low level of recycling and using of secondary raw materials, air, sole and water pollution are still continuing.

Unreasonable exploitation of raw material sources shows the evidence of low level application for environmental management systems.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

The sustainable development in industrial enterprise is system which combines engineering and management. In the middle of interest there is the protection of working environment.

As well as a human eye, which can lead and control the whole human body, in metaphorical sense the "Eye of Sustainable Development" directs our present society. This society produces and consumes and also increases and eliminates waste. The "Iris of Eye" consists environmental engineering and management. The "Pupil of Eye" belongs indoor -- contracted as well as extended -- outdoor environment, see Figure 1.

5. CONCLUSION

Industrial companies' societal and economical responsibilities are more than just making a profit. The role of production and assembly companies is to create value by using environmental, effective and efficient manner to produce goods and services. Sustainable entrepreneurship generally implies that factories and corporations are willing and able to behave responsibly towards outdoor and indoor environment and society as well.

The paper was elaborated in connection with the project VEGA--1/0453/08 at the Technical University in Kosice.

6. REFERENCES

Estokova, A. (2007). Methods for environmental assessment of building materials. In: Visnik Nacional'nogo universitetu Evivska politechnika: Teoria i praktika budivnictva. No. 600, pp 368-371. ISSN 0321-0499

Chovancova, J. & Rusko, M. (2007). Spectrum of voluntary tools used in application of environmental policy. In: CO-MAT-TECH 2007: 18-19th.Oct. 2007, Trnava, AlumniPress, pp 134-143. ISBN 978-80-8096-032-2

Kadukova, J. (2008). Prinosy environmentdlnych biotechnologil pre hutnictvo (Benefits of environmental biotechnologies for metallurgy). In: Moderne trendy v spracovanl druhotnych zdrojov nezeleznych kovov: Herl'any: HF TU, 2008. s.28-34. ISBN 978-80-8073-966-9

Rudy, V. (2003). Modernizdcia a ekologia produkcnych systemov malych strojdrskych firiem (Modernisation and ecology of SMEproduction systems). In: Transfer inovacii: Kosice: SjF-TU, c. 6, s.128-130. www.tuke.sk/sjf/icav, ISBN 80-8075-75-X

Zelenakova, M. (2006). Process of environmental risk assessment in watershed. In: Transactions of the Universities of Kosice: Research reports. No. 1, p. 18-26, ISSN 1335-2334