Search

Sustainability reporting is an essential tool for companies and organizations to assess and communicate their sustainability performance. Its importance derives from the need for transparency and accountability to stakeholders, including investors, customers, employees and local communities. The principles underlying an effective sustainability report include integrity, accuracy, comparability and clarity. The main purpose of the sustainability report is to provide a clear view of the economic, social and environmental impact of the organization's activities, contributing to continuous performance improvement and alignment with international standards. The objective of our study is to analyze sustainability reporting and ESG (environment, social, governance) reporting, key steps and methods for measuring and reporting sustainability, and the sustainability policy criteria and reporting frameworks used internationally (GRI, IIRC, SASB, TCFD, ISO 26000, ISO 14016) in order to identify areas for further development to improve the relevance and effectiveness of sustainability reporting. The results obtained from our study enable a better understanding of how an organization reports its social, economic, and environmental impact, the differences in compliance with the international standards used, the main steps, and sustainability criteria followed. Our research highlights the necessary actions and steps through which sustainability reporting can become a more effective and relevant tool, contributing to real sustainable development and more responsible resource management. The usefulness of this report is reflected in many aspects: it facilitates informed decision making, enhances trust and reputation, helps identify risks and opportunities, and supports sustainable business strategies. The sustainability report is not only a means of reporting but also a catalyst for positive change, promoting responsible business practices and contributing to global sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to emphasize the last decade status of the most frequent mycotoxic contaminants of the common crop cereals: maize, wheat, barley, two row barley, soy, rye, etc. The structure of the main mycotoxins treated in this paper (ochratoxine, zearalenone, aflatoxine, trichotecene, patulin, fumonisine) is presented, mentioning the producing organisms. The limits stipulated by Romanian authorities are comparatively presented with those present in EU. The importance of the environmental factors (clime, temperature, moisture, storage conditions, etc.) on mycotoxic cereal contamination is also treated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic agriculture is considered to be a durable system, in which the manure utilization assures a high quality of the production obtained and also of the soil's properties. Through application of high quantities of the organic fertilizers, in dozes of 50t/ha and 100 t/ha of manure, comparatively with variants fertilized with NPK and unfertilized variants, results showed an improvement of the soil's properties to all cultures as fallowed: pea-beans, wheat, potato and maize. The results obtained on argic phaeozem revealed that 50 t/ha manure applied on soil lead to increased the hydro stability of the soils aggregates between 5 and 8%, increased values of wilting point coefficient and also the pH values between 0,5 and 1 to all cultures. A higher quantity of manure, 100 t/ha has not showed high differences compare to witness regarding the aggregate stability and led to increase of the CO values, which means a negative effect during the drought season when plant cannot take the water from showers, which will be held from soil. Regarding the organic matter content, the values were different depending on culture and their efficiency to use manure. Thus, the differences between witness and 100 t/ha manure variant were the highest, at pea (2.12) and wheat culture (1.76). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The restoring ecological structure and dynamics to an earlier state (presumably less disturbed by humans) generally and soil restoration particularly, became desiderate worldwide. Because it is a non-renewable resource it should be utilised in a sustainable manner. Good practice regarding soil removal and reinstatement requires that soils should be returned as closely as possible to their original state after disturbance. The primary objective of soil restoration is to minimise the degradation of the resource and to promote the reestablishment of a functional plant - soil system for the long-term. Failure to protect soils during disturbance results in their degradation, with consequent environmental impacts both on-site and off-site through: soil erosion, loss of soil organic matter and nutrients, leading to a decline in soil fertility; soil compaction leading to waterlogging and destruction of soil structure (important for root establishment); loss of biological activity and diversity due to poor storage conditions and loss of organic matter. The main principles of soil restoration includes the followings: Recognising the problems which can arise during removal, storage and reinstatement, either due to the sensitivity of the soils or poor management of the soil resource. Ensuring that soils are stripped according to horizon, and the horizons are replaced in order, can lead to avoid the soil truncation, inversion and mixing of subsoil and topsoil Avoiding damage to soil structure by compaction, which has significant long-term effects on both soft function and establishment of vegetation. The best practice is to avoid compaction but remedial action can also be taken to alleviate problems once they arise. When there may be insufficient soil for restoration due to the nature of the development project and in accidental soil loss. It is necessary in these exceptional cases to consider importing soils or using soil forming materials on-site. Successful restoration of soil and vegetation requires a degree of understanding of the role and importance of soil in terrestrial habitats, not only for sustaining vegetation, but also for its environmental functions such as storage and filtration of water. Soil restoration and reinstatement are integral to sustainable land use planning and are considered as part of most large-scale developments. The general principles and guidelines in this advisory note can also be applied to ensure successful restoration of soil for nature conservation. There is a need for a greater understanding of soil properties which are essential for supporting habitats of conservation value, particularly the tolerance and threshold values for soil physical and chemical properties for specific habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]