Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Organizations Seek Environmental Management Solutions


By Daniel Stouffer

Up until the latter third of the 20th century, few in commerce and industry were willing to recognize the threat posed to us all by bad business practices. Environmental management was, back then, something discussed by politicians and scientists and was not a topic for the boardroom in general. However, we have seen more recently the damage that is being caused to the planet and realize that it is time for us all to focus.

During the 19th and most of the 20th century, environmental issues were far from people's minds as we sought every way possible to expand, grow bigger and better. Nobody thought of any repercussions as we focused on consumption needs, first and foremost. Fossil fuels represented the best way for us to generate energy and we did not think twice about impacting our natural lands, as we grew.

The Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act of the 1960s finally started the trend toward the adoption of environmental management solutions. The European Eco-management and Audit Scheme was closely followed by the International Standardization Organization's 14001 series standard. With the standards laid down, organizations now felt that it was the right thing to do to focus on these areas and to be seen to do so.

As it is recognized that certain businesses that are just starting off or who will operate in difficult environments could, together with emerging countries, be adversely affected if they tried to adopt the full standards as set out by ISO 14001. Other environmental management solutions have arisen, therefore, to take into account these varying circumstances.

Ecological issues and social performance should be viewed with as much enthusiasm as a financial report according to the United Nations. They advocate environmental management solutions based on a "natural capital" approach, which is very similar to the concept of the triple bottom-line approach to accounting.

Some proponents of alternative environmental management solutions advocate self-regulation as a better way to proceed rather than through enforced compliance, auditory checks and other standards. As an example, consumable and durable products would then be seen as distinct from "unsalables," otherwise classified as toxic products.

An integrated management approach to the introduction of environmental management solutions is currently favored. All elements within an organization must be aware of their contribution to the life cycle of the business product and must be internally responsible for their impact environmentally. This is in particular focus as new legislation is discussed to reduce one of the greatest environmental hazards, emission of toxic greenhouse gases.

Environmental management solutions can form part of a wider goal to help ensure that an organization achieves sustainability. As particular focus is placed on reducing a carbon footprint, the organization must also ensure that it is environmentally efficient as a whole. Wastage at all levels will not be tolerated from a societal or economic point of view, with the twin threats of reputational harm and regulatory penalty ahead.

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