Modern organizations are under increasing pressure to target sustainability as part of their environmental program. At the same time, most organizations have questions about what sustainability means and how they can get there. Implementation of an ISO 14001 environmental management system can be a powerful tool for organizations desiring to minimize their own environmental impacts. However, ISO 14001 is considered by many to be “weak” in its approach to sustainability since it does not prohibit pollution or the use of natural resources. Alternative approaches to EMS implementation can surely yield positive results…but can ecological sustainability be one of them? How can the sustainability-promoting organization go beyond the usual implementation of ISO 14001 and use its EMS to help society become ecological sustainability?
May 20, 2009 by
Brian Butler ,
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Ms. Blaydes opened the presentation with the premise of does an EMS system lead to sustainability. The answer was yes/no, dependant upon the focus of the organization. Discussion ensued regarding the definition of sustainability; Ms. Blaydes offered the definition: The continuing protection of life support systems and biodiversity; the conservation of natural and energy resources. The group agreed with statements offered that there was an overall confusion and lack of conclusions about the environmental problem. The basis of the confusion can be found in the complex regulatory structure, bad corporate image related to prior acts, public demand for action, and the profit drive of the company.
Ms. Blaydes discussed the development of a “default” type of EMS “a checking of the box” where positive environmental practices are motivated by the legal compliance for risk management. A list of considerations and practices to develop an effective EMS was offered:
Awareness of employees
Management support
Environmental considerations integrated into business planning
Responsibility beyond EHS
Measure the impact to the environment
Seek to control direct and indirect impacts
Investment in the development of human capital.
May 7, 2009 by
AROMAKE AFIEGBE | Filed under: Using Your EMS to Move Toward Sustainability [4] | No Comments »
Sustainable Development and the Role of the Financial World
Herwig Peeters. . “Sustainable Development and the Role of the Financial World. ” Environment, Development and Sustainability 5.1-2 (2003): 197-230. ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest. RIT Lib., Rochester, NY.. 8 Apr. 2009
Peeters analyzes the relationship between the financial world and that of sustainable development. This paper is particularly of interest since the financial markets are melting down.
Peeters summarizes the Johannesburg Summit held in 2002, sponsored by the United Nations. According to the document: “One of the key outcomes of the 2002 Summit was reported as “the broadening and strengthening of the understanding of sustainable development, particularly the important linkages between povery, the environment and the use of natural resources”.
Box 1 of the paper is the UNEP Statement by Financial Instutions on Environment and Sustainable Development (Revision 1997, abbreviated)(UNEPFI,1997b). This contains the body and two part focus of the statement; The Commitment to sustainable development and The Environmental management and financial institutions.
May 7, 2009 by
AROMAKE AFIEGBE | Filed under: Using Your EMS to Move Toward Sustainability [4] | No Comments »
The Global Sustainability and Creative Destruction of Industries by Hart and Milstein,
Stuart L Hart, Mark B Milstein. “Global Sustainability and the Creative Destruction of Industries. ” Sloan Management Review 41.1 (1999): 23-33. ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest. RIT Lib., Rochester, NY.. 8 Apr. 2009
Fifty years ago the economist Schumpeter that the driving forces in capitalism was due to a disequilibrium that existed among the components of the economy. A far cry from contemporaries who believed that capitalism was being driven by forces that existed in a static equilibrium. Authors Hart and Milstein describe a current business climate where survival of corporations is reliant upon a “Creative Destruction” process. That these companies will benefit from a retooling of an industry in adopting a new product/process, leaving past practices and products behind in order to survive the next business cycle/reality.
Believing that global sustainability is possible through a creative destruction process Milstein and Hart describe three economy types in the creative destruction format: Consumer Economy, Emerging Economy and Survival Economy. Each of these economies possesses differing Focuses, Metrics and Payoffs.
According to the paper: “that today’s extractive and material intensive industries (for example, mining, energy, chemicals, forest products, agriculture and transportation) are not environmentally sustainable. If the entire world were as materially intensive as North America it would take three planet Earths to support the material requirements of the current world population.”
May 7, 2009 by
AROMAKE AFIEGBE | Filed under: Using Your EMS to Move Toward Sustainability [4] | No Comments »
What is Your Role in a New and Sustainable Future?
McLean, C. What is Your Role in a New and Sustainable Future?. Sea Technology v. 50 no. 1 (January 2009) p. 7. ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest. RIT Lib., Rochester, NY.. 8 Apr. 2009
McLean, an oceanographer with the NOAA, writes about climate change, and the impact that greenhouse gases have on the oceans of the earth. However, the main focus of the article are the business opportunities that are present through the use of new technologies. According to McLean; “Many of the aggressive societal changes and environmental policies that are taking place around the globe relate directly to ocean science and marine technology. From scientifically tracking and monitoring the ocean’s role in climate change (something that we at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] are very busy doing today) to siting wind generators in coastal marine areas, the marine field will be a reliable foundation in the growth of new industries, new jobs and technical solutions.”
McLean, while not wholly explaining statements about increased profitability through the use of sustainable business practices, does give examples regarding the implementation of high tech monitoring of contaminants as an untapped business opportunity.
March 16, 2009 by
Brian Butler | Filed under: Using Your EMS to Move Toward Sustainability [4] | No Comments »
Responsible environmental management is becoming an essential order of business, and organizations are under increasing pressure to target sustainability as part of their environmental program. Many organizations turn to ISO 14001 to help them minimize their own environmental impacts. However, the usual implementation of ISO 14001 often falls short in bringing about significant results in terms of ecological sustainability.
This exploratory workshop will focus on how organizations can use their EMS to contribute to society’s goal of ecological sustainability.
Questions include:
What is ecological sustainability (or the pursuit thereof) and how is it different from positive environmental practices?
Why is ecological sustainability a relevant pursuit for environmental managers?
How can the EMS be used by the organization as a tool for driving ecological sustainability?
