Water sector resilience in the United Kingdom and Ireland: The COVID-19 challenge

The outbreak of COVID-19 led to restrictions on movements and activities, which presented a serious challenge to the resilience of the water sector. It is essential to understand how successfully water companies responded to this unprecedented event so effective plans can be built for future disruptive events. This study aimed to evaluate how the water sectors in the UK and Ireland were affected from a holistic sustainability and resilience-based perspective. Using pre-COVID data for 18 indicators of company performance and comparing them to the first year of the pandemic, the direction and magnitudes of change varied across companies. Financial indicators were significantly negatively affected, with interest cover ratio, post-tax return on regulated equity, and operating profit, exhibiting the greatest average declines of 21%, 21%, and 18%, respectively, a trend that would be dangerous to provisions and company operations if continued. Despite this, service and environmental indicators improved during the first year of the pandemic, exemplified by unplanned outage, risk of sewer storm flooding, and water quality compliance risk decreasing by a mean average of 37%, 32%, and 27%, respectively. Analysis using the Hicks-Moorsteen Productivity Index concluded that average productivity increased by 35%. The results suggest that the water sector was relatively resilient to the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of services, but adverse effects may have manifested in a deteriorated financial position that could exacerbate future challenges arising from exogenous pressures such as climate change. Specific advice for the UK water sector is to scrutinize non-critical spending, such as shareholder payments, during periods of economic downturn to ensure essential capital projects can be carried out. Although results are temporal and indicator selection sensitive, we recommend that policy, regulation, and corporate culture embrace frameworks that support long-term resilience to since the relative success in response to COVID-19 does not guarantee future success against differing challenges. This study generates a timely yet tentative insight into the diverse performance of the water sector during the pandemic, pertinent to the water industry, regulators, academia, and the public.     

房价与地价的关系

结合房地产开发的现状,分析了影响房地价格的因素,详细地阐述了房价与地价的关系,结合“汤臣一品”的事件,从反面证明了房价与地价的基本规律不能违反的结论。     

浅谈定额计价和清单计价的区别与联系

介绍了定额计价和清单计价两种模式投标时应注意的问题,重点论述了工程量清单计价投标评标方法及投标技巧,并对工程量清单招标与定额招标的区别与联系进行了探讨,为投标工作的顺利进行提供了理论基础。     

Ownership and sustainability of Italian water utilities: The stakeholder role

After several decades, the political and academic debate on water governance is still dominated by arguments about whether private sector involvement increases both efficiency and the level of investment within the industry. These arguments could appear reductive, especially in a context like Italy, which is dominated by public and mixed-ownership water utilities. The aim of this paper is to analyze how the socio-economic context and stakeholders' interests can influence the relationship between ownership structure and water utilities' sustainability performances. Analyzing six case studies, this research shows that the institutional context may influence both the water governance and utilities’ performance. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Ramsey pricing: Its uses and limits

Since 1980, the idea of ‘Ramsey pricing’ has attained a marked vogue in the literature on utility pricing and deregulation in the USA. It seems to offer a simple rule - the ‘inverseelasticity’ rule -for reaching efficient price structures in multi-product firms. It has been applied particularly to utility firms in the electric and telecommunications industries, as well as to pipelines, railroads, airlines and other deregulated industries. Despite its proponents' great enthusiasm for the idea, there are a number of serious limits and problems. I will review these in this paper, trying to draw a balanced judgment about this economic tool. It is a flawed tool, and some of its defects appear to be crippling if not fatal.     

Ensuring sustainable development for the German water sector: setting the stage for the risk-based sustainability management system (RSS)

Abstract

The service provision of drinking water and the disposal of waste water are severely challenged by changing framework conditions. Although service providers necessitate systematic information regarding sustainability risks, no available management tool accounts for them comprehensively. In the context of the project NaCoSi ‘Ensuring Sustainability for Urban Water Systems’, a risk-based sustainability management system (RSS) was developed. This paper aims to introduce RSS and to discuss its contribution towards companies’ viability and transformation in the water sector. The paper describes the comprehensive self-screening approach of RSS, which is based on a causal-chain concept and comprises steps of risk analysis, monitoring and mitigation. Results of the testing phase suggest the validity of risk analysis and its effectiveness in deriving measures. Thus, RSS can help to improve the ability of service providers by analysing challenges and communicating them.     

Using QMRA-based regulation as a water quality management tool in the water security challenge: Experience from the Netherlands and Australia

Innovation in the water sector is at play when addressing the global water security challenge. This paper highlights an emerging role for Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) and health-based targets in the design and application of robust and flexible water quality regulation to protect public health. This role is especially critical as traditional supply sources are subject to increased contamination, and recycled wastewater and stormwater become a crucial contribution to integrated water supply strategies. Benefits and weaknesses of QMRA-based regulation are likely to be perceived differently by the multiple stakeholders involved. The goal of the current study is to evaluate the experience of QMRA-based regulation implementation in the Netherlands and Australia, and to draw some lessons learned for regulators, policy makers, the industry and scientists. Water experts from regulatory bodies, government, water utilities, and scientists were interviewed in both countries. This paper explores how QMRA-based regulation has helped decision-making in the Netherlands in drinking water safety management over the past decade. Implementation is more recent in Australia: an analysis of current institutional barriers to nationally harmonized implementation for water recycling regulation is presented. This in-depth retrospective analysis of experiences and perceptions highlights the benefits of QMRA-based regulation and the challenges of implementation. QMRA provides a better assessment of water safety than the absence of indicators. Setting a health target addresses the balance between investments and public safety, and helps understand risks from alternative water sources. Challenges lie in efficient monitoring, institutional support for utilities, interpretation of uncertainty by regulators, and risk communication to consumers.     

Risk disclosure in sustainability reports: Empirical evidence from the energy sector

Recently, companies in the energy sector have faced multiple financial and environmental risks. This finding demonstrates the need for energy companies to disclose risk information. However, academic attention on risk disclosure (RD) remains limited. Through manual content analysis and a regression model, this study examines the effect of the features of the board of directors and audit committee on the RD level in sustainability reports. The empirical findings reveal that the size and independence of the board of directors and the size of the audit committee positively affect the RD level.     

清单与定额计价在招投标和预结算中的应用

对工程定额计价和工程量清单计价两种工程计价方式在工程招投标、预、结算中的应用进行了对比分析,阐述了两种方法各自的优势,以及应用中的联系和区别,提出在现阶段工程招投标、预、结算中要灵活使用清单计价和定额计价.     

国际工程承包投标报价系统构建

阐述了国际工程承包投标报价系统的方案设计、系统构成,并给出了一个适用于毛里求斯市场企业专用的定额数据库及其运算编程实例.     

WTO与工程量清单计价方式

分析介绍了加入WTO对建筑市场及企业的影响 ,阐述了工程量清单计价方式对建筑工程领域的影响 ,经多角度分析 ,指出加入WTO后 ,工程量清单计价招标将成为建筑企业招标的主要方式。     

Barriers and commitment of facilities management profession to the sustainability agenda

The practice of sustainable facilities management (FM) is rapidly evolving with the increasing interest in the discourse of sustainable development. This paper examines a recent survey of the experiences of facilities managers in the rapidly growing and evolving industry in regard to the barriers and their commitment to the sustainability agenda. The survey results show that time constraints, lack of knowledge and lack of senior management commitment are the main barriers for the implementation of consistent and comprehensive sustainable FM policy and practice. The paper concludes that the diversity of the FM role and the traditional undervaluation of the contribution it makes to the success of organisations are partially responsible for lack of success in achieving sustainable facilities. The overwhelming barrier for sustainable FM practice is the lack of understanding, focus and commitment of senior executives in appreciating the opportunities, threats and need for strategic leadership and direction in driving essential change, and hence further the sustainability agenda.     

Knowledge,sustainability and corporate strategies in the European energy sector

The paper analyses the apparent position of the European Union and the largest European energy corporations concerning the energy future of Europe and the environmental impacts of their business activities. In contrast to growing public concern at the long-term environmental, economic and social consequences of the reliance on non-renewable energy sources, official words about sustainable development are copious, but ineffective in producing investment in public and private research and development expenditures in the energy sector. Apart from the economic and social problems of the innovation deficit of the European Union, the stagnant and shrinking expenditures also raise ethical dilemmas linked to the questions of intergenerational equity. If we believe that there are technological solutions to our environmental problems we should redefine the corporate responsibility in terms of knowledge production, use and dissemination, too.     

浅议建设工程计价方式与发展方向

介绍了我国建设工程计价方式的现状，分析了其弊端，针对此指明了我国建设工程计价方式的发展方向，指出“控制量、放开价，由业主自主报价，最终形成价格”的基本模式正在逐步展开。     

Efficiency and pricing of water supply and sewerage services in Japan

This paper investigates the technical efficiency of Japanese water supply and sewerage services using data envelopment analysis (DEA). We then apply regression analysis to explore the interactions between the efficiencies of water supply and sewerage services on both their own prices and those of the other service. All other things being equal, the results indicate a positive relationship between the efficiency of water supply services and the prices for sewerage services, but no relationship between the efficiencies of sewerage services and the prices of water supply services.     

居住小区室内外给水流量衔接点计算人数及其给水保证率的探讨

本文通过推算2009版《建筑给水排水设计规范》(以下简称2009版规范)住宅小区室内外流量衔接点生活给水秒流量的给水保证率,提出简化住宅小区室内外秒流量衔接点分类、统一居住小区室内外给水流量衔接点计算人数的技术方案。     

Environmental implications of water efficient microcomponents in residential buildings

The Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) in England sets out various water efficiency targets/levels, which form part of environmental performance criteria against which the sustainability of a building is measured. The code is performance based and requires reduction in per capita water consumption in households. The water efficiency related targets can be met using a range of water efficient microcomponents (WC, showers, kitchen taps, basin taps, dishwashers, washing machines, and baths). However, while the CSH aims at reducing the adverse environmental implications associated with the dwellings by promoting reduction in water consumption, little is known about the energy consumption and the environmental impacts (e. g. carbon emissions) resulting from water efficient end uses. This paper describes a methodology to evaluate the energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with the CSH's water efficiency levels. Key findings are that some 96% and 87% of energy use and carbon emissions, respectively associated with urban water provision are attributable to in-house consumption (principally related to hot water), and that achieving a defined water efficiency target does not automatically save energy or reduce carbon emissions.     

Economically defensible access pricing, competition and preservation of socially desirable cross subsidy

The article describes and evaluates four principles that have been used or proposed to guide regulation of access to essential bottleneck facilities by competitors of the owner of those facilities: fully distributed cost, incremental cost, Ramsey pricing and parity pricing. It is shown that parity prices are the only prices that give no added competitive advantage to the owner of the bottleneck facilities or his rivals. Parity pricing is also shown to permit simultaneous achievement of two objectives previously thought incompatible: unrestricted competitive entry and preservation of cross subsidies that regulators consider socially desirable.