Interdisciplinary Environmental Review (9 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• Green Human Resource Management (GHRM): A Review and Synthesis  
  by Paul Alukal, Shreekumar Nair, Sumant Bishwas 
  Abstract: With ever greater emphasis being placed on environmental sustainability, the concept of green human resource management (GHRM) has received a great deal of interest from both academics and practitioners over the past few years. Yet, the broad concept and definition, the nature of its measurement and when and how it influences individual-level, group-level and organisational-level outcomes are areas that still require further research. This article offers a detailed and focused review of the existing literature on GHRM. It also develops an integrated framework of the antecedents, mediators, moderators and outcomes related to GHRM. In particular, we call for researchers to pay greater attention to possible antecedents of GHRM, examine the underlying mechanisms by which GHRM influences individual-level and organisational-level outcomes and identify possible factors that may moderate the relationship between GHRM and its outcomes. With this, we strive to provide a roadmap for researchers to further develop this burgeoning field.
  Keywords: green human resource management; GHRM; review; framework; antecedents; outcomes.
  DOI: 10.1504/IER.2022.10049483
   
  
• Study of Management of Construction Waste Material in Residential Projects: A Review  
  by HADRI SAFWAN SUTAJI, Nuzul Azam Haron, Aidi Hizami Alias, Salihudin Hassim, Raja Ahmad Azmeer Raja Ahmad Effendi 
  Abstract: The construction industry can be classified as one of the major contributors to the development of Malaysia. Over the years, rapid development in term of building and infrastructure in Malaysia shows that Malaysia is moving towards a developed country. However, with the increase of construction project in Malaysia, this is also increasing the production of construction waste material at site which then will contributed to the environmental pollution. The 3-R concept seem most practiced at site to reduce the construction waste material even though it has some disadvantages. In fact, the reason why the majority of the contractor in Malaysia do not want to implement the good and right construction waste management is due to willingness to pay for the waste management at site. Thus, site waste management plan (SWMP) is one of the new methods that can be implemented to manage the construction waste at site.
  Keywords: construction waste management; CWM; construction waste material; recycle; reuse; site waste management plan; SWMP; Malaysia.
  DOI: 10.1504/IER.2022.10050405
   
  
• Phytomonitoring of Hazardous Metals in Air  
  by Sweta Tiwari, Triratnesh Gajbhiye, Ankesh Tiwari, Mohineeta Pandey, Astha Tirkey, Roshan Lal Sahu, Sudhir Kumar Pandey 
  Abstract: Heavy metals emitted from different sources such as vehicular exhaust, industries, coal mines, combustion, and thermal plants can lead to severe health hazards for plants and humans. Biomonitoring of heavy metals using plants is an economical and affordable method for controlling hazardous airborne heavy metals. This review article focuses on the determination of heavy metal content in different types of particulate matter (PM) samples deposited/accumulated on the plant surfaces for the assessment of air quality. A general overview has been given to highlight the importance of heavy metal toxicity and its definitions. In addition to it, different plants are discussed which are utilised for heavy metal phytomonitoring. Current developments in phytomonitoring is also highlighted by discussing the studies conducted in different parts of the world along limitations and future prospects are also highlighted.
  Keywords: heavy metal; pollution; biomonitoring; mosses; lichens; phytoremediation.
  DOI: 10.1504/IER.2022.10050493
   
  
• A Statistical Analysis of Air-Pollution before Covid ’19: Experimental Study of 3 Years for Intelligent Environment Conducted at North Indian Zone to Extract Knowledge  
  by Rohit Rastogi, Akshit Rajan Rastogi, Neha Gupta 
  Abstract: In the populated and developing countries, governments consider the regulation and protection of environment as a major task and should take into consideration the concept of smart environment monitoring. The main motive of these systems is to enhance the environment with various technology including sensors, processors, data sets and other devices connected across the globe through a network. This system can basically help in monitoring air quality which is necessary in the field of meteorological studies and movement factors. Also, these factors contribute a lot in air pollution. So, forecasting air quality index using an intelligent environment system, which includes a machine learning model in order to predict air quality index for National Capital Region (NCR)? The values of major pollutants like SO2, PM2.5, CO, PM10, NO2, and O3. In recent years, machine learning in most emerging technology for predicting on historical data with 99.99% of accuracy.
  Keywords: machine learning; air pollution prediction; linear regression; artificial neural network; ANN; KNN; SO2; PM2.5.
  DOI: 10.1504/IER.2022.10051273
   
  
• Modelling the asymmetric nexus between carbon emissions and COVID-19: Indian evidence employing NARDL model  
  by Poonam Kumari, Sanjay Kumar Patel 
  Abstract: After rising for decades, carbon emissions fall in 2020 by 2.3 billion tones. The objective of the study is to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on carbon emissions in India by employing the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model over period March 25, 2020, to August 31, 2021. Unit root test confirms that all variables are integrated at order I(0) and I(1). Bounds test supports long-run association amongst the variables. Results of the study validate the asymmetric relationship between COVID-19 determinants and CO2 emissions. It presents that lockdown has significantly reduced the CO2 emissions. This asymmetric relationship indicates that COVID-19 has become the major cause of reduction in greenhouse gases, but this cannot be treated as permanent solution to environmental destruction. Thus, the study suggested that government, policymakers should formulate FDI policy on high-tech low carbon technology while preparing a strict environmental access system and promote environmentally sustainable investment through subsidies.
  Keywords: COVID-19; carbon emissions; global warming; NARDL; lockdown; air quality; climate change; environment; sustainability; pandemic.
  DOI: 10.1504/IER.2022.10051329
   
  
• Climate change, agricultural output and inflation in India: autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test  
  by Sachita Yadav 
  Abstract: This paper is an attempt to analyse the impact of climate change (average annual rain and average maximum and average minimum temperature) on the crop yield (wheat yield and rice yield) and crop inflation (wheat inflation and rice inflation) in India during 2000 to 2018 with the help of ARDL bounds test. The empirical results showed that there is a significant short run relationship exists between wheat yield and average annual rain and average maximum temperature. Rice yield is also having a significant short run relationship with average annual rain. But it did not find any long run relationship between climate change and crop yield.
  Keywords: climate change; crop yield; crop inflation; ARDL bonds test; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IER.2023.10052298
   
  
• Lessons Learned from Building Information Modeling uptake in Water Infrastructure Construction Project: A case study of River Rejuvenation Project  
  by Vijayeta Malla 
  Abstract: The study promulgates the lessons learned by introducing the building information modelling (BIM) as a part of the virtual design and construction (VDC) strategy for a water treatment plant construction of a River Rejuvenation Project. A case study-based method comprised a combined literature review followed by a qualitative study. The semi-structured interviews engaged five specialised experts. A BIM steering head of the project team was deployed to recognise the critical lessons learned and the challenges involved while implementing the application of BIM as a part of the VDC execution policy in the firm. The study examined the adoption of BIM in terms of its pros and cons by analysing qualitative data through a theoretical lens of the P3 model (people, process and product) framework using Nvivo. This study investigates one of the digital transformation initiatives of the construction organisation.
  Keywords: building information modelling; BIM; constructability; clash detection; collaboration; virtual design and construction; VDC; information model; IM; Nvivo.
  DOI: 10.1504/IER.2023.10052418
   
  
• The environmental performance of firms that have issued green bonds  
  by Carol Marie Boyer, Catherine Boulatoff 
  Abstract: This study investigates whether firms that issue green bonds show an improvement in their environmental performance after issuance. Investors looking to make investments in these companies may want to know if true environmental change actually occurs. This idea is tested using Carbon Disclosure Project data to measure advances or declines in environmental performance after a firm issues a green bond. Several areas are examined including emissions, energy intensity, renewable energy use and production, environmental policies, water use and waste sent to landfills. The results indicate that when a company issues a green bond, there is progress in overall environmental performance.
  Keywords: green bonds; fixed income; environmental; Carbon Disclosure Project; CDP.
  DOI: 10.1504/IER.2023.10052519
   
  
• An Introduction to Factors Influencing Anaerobic Oxidation of Methane  
  by Niloofar Parsaeifard, Mithila Chakraborty, Sunakshi Hada, Melanie Sattler 
  Abstract: Methane affects global climate change 28 times more than carbon dioxide, which indicates the significance of the process of aerobic and anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) in reducing methane emissions from different ecosystems. The rate of AOM is usually slower than aerobic methane oxidation; however, AOM has higher carbon efficiency and can utilise methane as a carbon source, thus reducing methane release to the environment. This article provides an introduction to AOM dependent on different electron acceptors such as sulphate; nitrite/nitrate; iron; manganese, etc. The paper also has an overview of the effect of environmental factors on AOM rates as well as various microorganisms involved in AOM with a higher focus on AOM coupled to denitrification. Moreover, the application of isotope analysis is reviewed as a tool to measure the gross AOM rate in experimental studies. Finally, the available analytical models to estimate AOM rates are discussed.
  Keywords: anaerobic oxidation; methane oxidation; electron acceptor; environmental factors; analytical models; isotope analysis.
  DOI: 10.1504/IER.2022.10052609