Management 3
The Conservation Ethic
""Conservation is the foresighted utilization, preservation and or renewal of forests, waters, lands and minerals for the greatest good of the greatest number for the longest time" - Pinchot an ethic holding that people should put natural resources to use but also have a responsibility to manage them wisely Utilitarianism + Sustainability
Periodically review and change Environmental Management System in light of
- Audit results - Changes in internal and external environment - New products or processes (such as upgrades in technology) Reviews should refine the settling of new objectives and targets and improve Not performance based, system.. (ISO 14000 is "easy" certification)
Audit
- Examinations or inspections of organization's accounts - Implemented by independent organization - Provide unbiased verification - Provide public with assurance of conformity
ISO member tasks:
- Inform parties in home country of relevant international standardization initiatives and opportunities - Represent their country's interests during standards agreements and negotiations
Criticism of ISO 14000
- Only measures a company's conformance with its own environmental policy - NOT PERFORMANCE BASED, it is SYSTEM based (making sure you have the system in place, not accountable for performance) - Multinational corporations do not have to use the same standards world-wide - Once the EMS standards is achieved by a company, what will happen to the environment? (impact on environment not measured, all what you set to do yourself, not held to any standards, not performance based) - companies can set a pretty low bar for themselves - No limits on energy use, resource consumption, emissions - Companies not required to focus on all of their environmental effects, only a commitment to continually improve in chosen areas
Environmental Management: Corrective Action process
Monitor and measure objectives and targets Investigate and correct non-conformance Establish procedures to mitigate impacts of non-conformance (clean up dumped chemicals) Internal audits (inspections) - scope, frequency, who, how, communicate results throughout company (everyone needs to understand what is happening)
Continuum of Managerial Response
Obstructive Defensive Accommodating Proactive
Proactive EM Strategies
Pollution prevention - Waste reduction, energy efficiency and materials management minimizes waste before it's created Product stewardship (the life cycle of a product) - Vertical integration - from raw materials to final product - Full responsibility of full life cycle - Looks at full life cycle of products. - Emphasis placed on design issues e.g. recycling machine parts and supply chain management Clean technology - Incorporate environmental factors into research and development to reduce use of harmful materials in production process (chlorine free paper) Sustainability - vision whereby employees, company leaders and stakeholders define goals for long-term sustainability and make EM responsible of every employee - Transactional or transformational
Two Certification Systems
Process & Performance based
Environmental Management System
a number of interrelated elements that function together to achieve the objective of managing those activities, products and services that impact the environment Designed to help a company: - Manage, measure and improve environmental aspects of its operations - Improve efficiency in meeting regulatory requirements - Change company culture by incorporating EM into overall business operations and planning (transformational change) - Improve Occupational Health and Safety
Benefits of Environmental Management (8)
1) Improved environmental performance 2) Improved corporate image 3) Increased productivity (efficiency) 4) Increased profit margins 5) Increased market shares 6) Competitive advantage in the marketplace 7) Reduced liabilities (improving env. Performance reduces liability -- prevents events like major oil spills) 8) Reduced production costs
Formalizing the Conservation Ethic in Modern Organizations
1. Environmental management systems 2. ISO14000 3. Industrial ecology 4. Certification systems
ISO: two families/types of standards
1. ISO 9000 series - Quality management - Human resources 2. ISO 14000 series - Environmental management - Sustainable growth and development
Implementation of Industrial Ecology requires........
1. Planning (long-term) 2. Organizing (cooperation) 3. Leadership (vision) 4. Controlling (monitoring)
Organizations promoting the concept of industrial ecology
ISO CERES
Evolution of Environmental Management
Increasing concern about the health of our natural environment Emergence of sustainable development - belief that environmental protection and economic growth are compatible Competitiveness pressures in industry to improve environmental performance (from competition and customers) Growing consumer demands and public scrutiny.
Industrial Ecology: from Linear systems to Cyclical systems
Industrial systems tend to by LINEAR (Raw material - manufacturing - product / waste) Biological systems are CYCLICAL Human activities are threatening the planet's natural resources This environmental stress is creating pressure for industry and consumers to move from a: Linear model to a Semi cyclic model to a Cyclical one Industry role: move beyond business as usual Alleviating environmental stress Need to work with the "assimilative capacity" of nature - Capacity to assimilate pollution/waste without adverse effects on human health and natural ecosystems Goals: - Not allow deviation from the natural state that are large in comparison to natural fluctuations - Minimize amounts of waste that nature re-process - "Acceptable levels"
Environmental Management
encompasses all effort to minimize the negative environmental impact of a firm's products throughout their life cycle Emergence of sustainable development - belief that environmental protection and economic growth are compatible when a company implements strategies that attempt to shape the external environment within which it operates
Process-Based Certification System
guided by standards (easier option, not basing on performance)
Performance-Based Certification System
guided by standards, but ALSO based on level of performance or rate of improvement to be achieved
Invisible Hand
Adam Smith's metaphor to explain how an individual's pursuit of economic self-interest can promote the well-being of society as a whole
Coalition of Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES)
Worldwide leader in standardized corporate environmental reporting formed in response to Valdez spill in 1989
Industrial Ecology
A new approach to industrial design of products and processes EMS in overdrive Taking waste and reusing it Incorporates the cyclical patterns of ecosystems into designs for industrial production processes Sustainable manufacturing strategies by redesigning production process for conservation of resources Integrating economic and environmental accounting Developing industrial ecosystems fostering cooperation among various industries whereby the waste of one production process becomes a feedstock for another industry as a man-made ecosystem that operates in a similar way to natural ecosystems, where the waste or by product of one process is used as an input into another process.
Corporate social contract
A relationship between a corporation and society Organizations are subject to external codes of ethics Organization should also develop internal codes of ethics
ISO 14001
A standard within ISO 14000... is a global quality standard that certifies organizations that set environmental objectives and targets, account for the environmental impact of their activities, and continuously improve environmental performance specifies the requirements of an environmental management system (EMS) for small to large organizations/specifies the ACTUAL requirements for EMS provides guidelines for the establishment or improvement of an EMS.
Environmental Policy
Continual improvement on a periodic basis Prevention of pollution - focus on reduction and substitution to less toxic chemicals Comply with relevant environmental legislation Prove their adherence to these policies Policy must be publicly available
Plausible Deniability
Corporations seeking plausible deniability halfway believable claim of innocence in the face of uncertain evidence
Sustainable Industrial Ecology
Focus on solar or woody biomass fuels Less fossil fuels Raw materials derived from agriculture
Tragedy of the Commons
For a common pool resource (often environmental resources, a non-excludable resource), if everyone acts to maximize persona gain the resource will be degraded or destroyed A situation in which people acting individually and in their own interest use up commonly available but limited resources, creating disaster for the entire community (Hardin) - rebuttal against Invisible Hand Example: the crash of the lobster industry in Maine
Constraints facing Industrial Ecology
Economic system does not provide incentives to alter current processes - Focus on production - Focus on short-term bottom line - Focus on competition, not cooperation Rapid rate of technological evolution and obsolescence contributes to waste stream - impacts relationships with potential cooperators
Environmental Management: Planning process
Environmental review of 1) Legislative requirements, 2) Activities that significantly impact the environment (previous incidents) and 3) All existing EM practices and procedures Set quantifiable objectives and targets (ie. Cut energy use by 20% in the next 20 years) Identify time frame and people responsible
CERES (or Valdez) Principles
Protection of biosphere Sustainable use of resources Reduction of disposal of wastes Energy conservation Risk reduction (human health and safety) Safe products and services Environmental restoration
Environmental Management: Implementation process
Structure and responsibility of everyone involved must be clearly defined Training, awareness, and competence System to communicate EMS between departments and externally Documentation of all procedures
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Functions:
System-based The purpose of ISO is to: - Facilitate international trade through the development of worldwide standards - Mitigate conflicting regional standards, such as those associated with screw thread types, radio broadcasting, and measurement systems - 162 national standards organizations from over 160 countries (es. American National Standards Institute) - Governments, NGO, etc
Leopold's Land Ethic
The need to acknowledge impact of our actions on society, ecosystem and future generations Balance productivity, equity and sustainability values
Why implement ISO14000? Why do companies get certified?
The point of ISO14000 - to adopt an EMS!!!! (certified) Companies are becoming more proactive in terms of EM (stay ahead of regulations) World Trade Organization recognizes and favors international standards that are process-based Greater market pressure (esp. strong in Europe) Government adoption - defense department Reduces insurance costs Done if you want to have markets at your fingertips
