A systematic evaluation to ensure that a company's eco management system is working and that environmental programmes are being run according to the law and in a satisfactory manner by internal standards. During this audit, the company's effect on the external environment, the way the internal organisation handles environmental issues and [..]

 

Indirect energy from the sun which is produced when air is heated and rises upwards and is replaced by cooler air from the side, thereby creating circulation. Windpower has very little environmental impact. Noise and the effect on the natural and cultural values by changing the landscape can, however, make certain locations unsuitable.

Means poisonous. Different substances have different toxic effects. Some, like dioxins, are toxic immediately and at very low doses. Others, like trace elements, are toxic in large doses and after long periods of storage in the body.

A branch of science within physics which deals with the conformity of energy and material consumption in different processes. 1. The first principle of thermodynamics states that energy and material can be neither newly produced nor consumed. On the other hand, energy can be transformed from one form to another. Kinetic energy can, for example, be [..]

When fuel containing sulphur, such as coal and oil, is burnt, sulphur dioxide is formed. In the air, it is transformed into sulphuric acid. This is the most important cause of acidification in the soil and water. At the same time, sulphur is a vital substance, in small quantities, for living organisms.

Solvents are the collective name for substances which dissolve other substances. Organic solvents have attracted the most interest as a result of their health risks and, in recent years, their influence on the environment has also aroused interest. This applies in particular to the organically volatile substances. They help to produce ground-level [..]

Recipient is the name given to the receiver of emissions; i.e. the water, air or soil where the emissions end up.

Renewable types of energy include solar power, windpower and hydropower and different types of biofuel. The basic feature of renewable energy is that it can be re-created within a foreseeable period, with the exception of the sun which constantly generates energy (if we disregard the fact that many billions of years from now the sun will disappear) [..]

Polyvinyl chloride plastic is used for flooring, vinyl wallpaper, electric cables and so on. PVC contains chlorine and, when it is burnt, hydrochloric acid and chlorinated hydrocarbons are produced. They help to increase chlorine-organic compounds, such as dioxins, in the soil and water.