The aim of this study is to strengthen the capacity of mining industries to assess and improve their environmental sustainability performance through the introduction of a relevant framework. Specific assessment categories and respective indicators were selected according to predefined steps. Sustainability threshold values were identified for each indicator to enable the comparison of the facility’s performance with a sustainability reference value. The application of the framework results in the extraction of an Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Mining Industries Index (I_ESAMI). The framework was applied to evaluate a mining facility in Greece, with a view to improve its applicability in parallel. The final score of environmental sustainability for the examined facility was 3.0 points (I_ESAMI = 3.0 points), indicating significant room for improvement where the company should aim to further enhance its sustainability performance.

The aim of the specific study is to discuss the impact of economic crisis on air quality in Greece in terms of particulate matter (PM) concentrations. For this purpose, three sampling campaigns were conducted during the winter period of 2012, 2013 and 2014 in two medium sized cities in North Greece (Kavala and Drama). The average concentrations measured ranged from 33–56, 28–47 and 25–44 μg/m³ for PM₁₀, PM_2.5 and PM₁, respectively. The analysis of the daily concentration profile for all measurements indicated two distinct periods of elevated concentrations: a) during 08:00 to 10:00 and b) during 19:00 to 22:00. The observed periods of increased concentration coincided with the periods of increased urban traffic in the morning and basic heating needs in late evening. Significant correlation was observed between PM₁₀-PM_2.5 (R²>0.9) and PM_2.5-PM₁ (R²∼1.0) suggesting that coarse and fine particles originate from similar sources. The PM_2.5/PM₁₀ ratio values ranged from 0.84 to 0.85 indicating a major impact of PM_2.5 to the final concentration levels recorded. The results presented in the specific study support the notion that a significant alteration is undergoing to the atmospheric air quality in Greece due to the economic crisis and the subsequent increase of biomass products combustion for residential heating. Supplemental materials are available for this article.