Recent posts in ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
It is generally well-accepted wisdom that what isn’t measured can’t be controlled. So measurement is important. But measurement provides more than just information on the effectiveness of controls; it also provides information on the values of the culture within which the measurements are being taken. Deciding upon environmental performance metrics can, in many cases, be not much more than a translation of regulatory requirements. However, while many, perhaps most, companies claim that their environmental performance is principally compliance driven, an examination of what they measure reveals that the organization’s concerns often go well beyond regulatory mandates. So it is important to understand not just what should be measured but also what we are trying to accomplish with our measurements. Obviously, it is important that what we measure and our management methodologies are internally and externally valid with respect our purpose for conducting these measurements. But in many cases for the results of our measurements to be useful there needs to be correspondence with earlier and subsequent measurements and, perhaps, at other locations. The subtopics in this research collaboratory will explore performance measurement and examine what we measure and why, what standards of practice exist or are developing and how we use the results of our measurements.
