Aestimum 70 (2017)
Original Articles - Appraisal and rural economics

The EMAS-ISO standards in the quality assessment of the integrated water service

Salvatore Giuffrida
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Ambientale dell’Università di Catania, Italia
Giovanni Casamassima
Caltaqua S.p.A.
Maria Rosa Trovato
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Ambientale dell’Università di Catania, Italia

Published 2017-08-21

Abstract

This contribution proposes a theoretical model to support the environmental assessment for the organizations aiming at implementing an EMAS-ISO auditing process in the ground of the water services industry. The model tries to combine a new theory of value – based on natural, bio-genealogical and semantic surplus – with the cycle input - output - re-input characterizing namely the most critical area of the integrated waters service, the waste water treatment plants. A multidimensional pattern based on the Multi-Attribute Value Theory has been assumed as an effective operational framework connecting the contents of the treatment process, as defined by the scientific and technological tools supporting the judges of fact, and the issues of sustainability, supporting the value judgements.