Sustainability of Air Pollution: Challenges and Mitigation Measures

This report discusses the challenges faced in maintaining sustainability of air pollution and suggests mitigation measures to reduce emissions of air pollutants. Stakeholders involved in the process are also identified.

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Sustainability Studio
Report
7/26/2018
Student Name

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Introduction
One of the Earth’s most significant natural resources is its atmosphere that contains air,
without which plants and animals could not survive. For sustaining the plants, animals and
human beings in the environment, pollution should be taken care of. Sustainability can be
defined as the process of maintaining a certain level. The current issue in this paper is the
sustainability of Air pollution. Air pollution is relates to the poor air quality in the
surroundings (Sueyoshi and Yuan, 2015).
Before doing the research on this topic, I considered the sustainability factors which is judged
only in the companies in which the strategies are made to survive the business for the long
term without any problems or hard conditions. However, the concept of sustainability is
applicable to the whole environment including the human and non-human lives in the habitat.
The sustainability is not a rigid or a narrow concept and not confined to a single factor or
thing but reflects on various other issues also. Sustainability is wider in nature and covers
various aspects of surrounding in which protecting the environment the sustainability is not
only found in the business but also seen in environment protection (Janssens-Maenhout et al.,
2015).
According to the research, WHO (World Health Organization) reported that in 2012, 7
million people died due to exposure to air pollution. From this incidence, this will be
considered as the largest single environmental risk (World Health Organization, 2016).
United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in 2014, tried to improve the quality of air
by making some measures. These measures give priority to sustainable development,
identifying that clean air is critical to protecting human health. This measure also helps in the
protection of climate, human health, and ecosystem.

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Issue as a Challenge
Air pollution can be taken as a challenge for the environment. Air pollution caused due to
natural and manmade sources. Human sources include the vehicles, industries, and factories,
residential and commercial areas. It affects the human as well as surroundings. Air pollution
can cause the death from respiratory diseases, chronic fatigue, and other diseases such as
heart disease. The polluted environment also affects the vegetation and reduces the
biodiversity (Liu et al., 2015).
There are many challenges faced at managerial and technical levels. The management
challenges include the lack of integrity, directions, and coordination between the ministries
and organization that are related in reducing the air pollution. There is a lack of participation
of the public in programmes to reduce air pollution. Another challenge that has found is the
sanctioning of the funds required to introduce the programs to lowering the pollution (Dora et
al., 2015).
Technical challenges faced include the use of poor quality fuel in the machines, which creates
harmful gases in the surrounding. Use of old technology is also the reason to have air
pollution in the environment. Other challenges that the authorities are facing the not
providing the use of pollution control technologies in the vehicles (Yigitcanlar, Dur and
Dizdaroglu, 2015).
Mitigation measures
The issue can be mitigated by using a number of means, which would be, employed. This
will help in preventing and reducing the emissions of air pollutants.
 Application of best available control technology, as required by PSD permit
 Make less use of motor vehicles or equipment, which make the air pollution.

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 Choose a fuel-efficient vehicle, which is run on hydrocarbons and have fewer
chances of polluting the environment.
 Reduction in the carbon emission generated by the projects help to improve the
working conditions
 Use of unleaded gasoline in cars
 Share a ride or involve in car-pooling to reduce the pollution
 Keep the car in a good condition to run while eliminating the emission of smoke in
the environment.
All these are the ways in which the good quality air can be there in the society and can
protect the society (Janic, 2017).
Stakeholders
All those persons who have the interest in the matter of environment are the stakeholders for
the environment. In the case of pollution in the environment, all those persons who live in the
environment, ecosystems are stakeholders. All these are considered the stakeholders and are
affected by the air pollution in the environment (Rao et al., 2017).
The person which gets affected by actions, objectives, and policies implemented in the
environment are stakeholders. It refers to someone with a stake, someone who stands against
a loss or gain. Stakeholders can be risk losers, risk gainers, risk perpetrators, and risk
managers. The common stakeholders in the environment include individuals, corporates,
government, and communities. Control and decision making in the community are done by
the stakeholders. Company are also contributing in developing the sustainable environment.
All levels of government department plays an important part in managing Australia’s air
quality. To guarantee a clean air for future, Australia’s environment Ministers established the

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National Clean Air Agreement to help the governments prioritize national actions to address
the air quality issues. In Australia, states and territories are taking the primary responsibility
for observing and handling the quality of air in near future. They try to maintain the standards
of air quality to protect the health of the individual. In addition, a new step has been taken by
the Australia government in which national issues have been highlighted regarding the fuel
quality and vehicle emissions. These issues are taken concern by the authorities to make the
quality environment with fresh air in the surrounding (Doppelt, 2017).
Another step taken by government of Australian is to establish a national approach on the
issues that have been identified that the noxious emissions from the outdoor powered
equipment and propulsion marine engines through the product Emissions Standards Act 2017
and Product Emission Standard Rules 2017. Australia is the one, which is setting the
standards to protect the environment from harmful gases and contents (Network for business
sustainability, 2010).
From the research, another example of the airline's industry can be taken. Most of the airline
companies like Qantas checks the fuel efficiency and carbon emission levels. They are using
the different units to record the fuel emission with reporting in miles and some in kilometers.
Airlines are taking notice and working to improve the corporate sustainability reporting
(Miller et al., 2007).
Stakeholders
Government Manage the noxious emissions from the
outdoor powered equipment and propulsion
marine engines through the product
Emissions Standards Act 2017 and Product

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Emission Standard Rules 2017.
NGO’s Union of Concerned Scientists provides a
solution on how to reduce harmful emissions.
Corporates Qantas is taking the step to have an
efficiency of fuel and control carbon
emission level.
Community Planting the trees to get the fresh air and
preserve the nature
Many NGO like Union of Concerned Scientist provides the solution to reduce the harmful
emissions. The organization tries to reduce the emission by encouraging the participants in
the public and inspire the political leaders to make a comprehensive strategy for climate
(Breezo Meter, 2018).
In some of the places, there arises the problem of respiratory diseases due to the polluted air.
Various communities are finding to plant more trees in the area to get the fresh air. This will
help to preserve the nature and boost the environmental awareness in the society. Panasonic
company is also the one contributor in this theme by giving the fund to plant more trees in the
areas where needed. In this campaign, more than 5700 trees have been planted and at present,
many farmers are earning from this also and living their livelihood.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the sustainability in the environment is
the main issue. This issue is related to the pollution created by the humans and other sources.
This affects the lives of the individuals. The major problem is air pollution that affects the
living of an individual. It considered being as a challenge for the society and its other

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stakeholders. This issue can be resolved by the use of various new technologies. This
technology includes the application of best available control technology, as required by PSD
permit, choose a fuel-efficient vehicle, which is run on hydrocarbons and has fewer chances
of polluting the environment. If these measures are implemented in, the surrounding will
protect the environment from harmful air pollution. Some stakeholders are taken some steps
to mitigate the risk of polluted air in which major contribution is given by the government
and corporates by introducing new policies and programmes in society. These stakeholders
are governments, NGO’s, corporates, and communities. All these take some step to take
resolved with the problem of poor quality of air in the environment.

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References
Breezo Meter. (2018) Six NGOs Fighting Air Pollution - Getting Involved [online]
Available on: https://blog.breezometer.com/ngos-fighting-air-pollution [Accessed on: 27th
July 2018]
Doppelt, B. (2017) Leading change toward sustainability: A change-management guide
for business, government and civil society. Oxon: Routledge.
Dora, C., Haines, A., Balbus, J., Fletcher, E., Adair-Rohani, H., Alabaster, G., Hossain,
R., de Onis, M., Branca, F. and Neira, M. (2015) Indicators linking health and
sustainability in the post-2015 development agenda. The Lancet, 385(9965), pp.380-391.
Janic, M. (2017) The sustainability of air transportation: a quantitative analysis and
assessment. Oxon: Routledge.
Janssens-Maenhout, G., Crippa, M., Guizzardi, D., Dentener, F., Muntean, M., Pouliot,
G., Keating, T., Zhang, Q., Kurokawa, J., Wankmüller, R. and Denier van der Gon, H.
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and Kaufman, J.D. (2007) Long-term exposure to air pollution and incidence of
cardiovascular events in women. New England Journal of Medicine, 356(5), pp.447-458.

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Network for business sustainability. (2010) Identify, prioritize powerful environmental
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Yigitcanlar, T., Dur, F. and Dizdaroglu, D. (2015) Towards prosperous sustainable cities:
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