Do stakeholder groups influence environmental management system development in the Dutch agri‐food sector?

This paper presents the results of a survey that included 492 companies in the Dutch agri‐food sector with respect to the influence of stakeholder groups on the companies' level of environmental management system (EMS) implementation. It is concluded that primary stakeholders (government, clients) are more relevant for EMS development than secondary stakeholders (such as environmental organizations). The results suggest that small and medium‐sized companies are able to accommodate to demands with respect to the implementation of internally oriented care systems (I‐EMSs). I‐EMSs focus at the single firm or location. In general, they are predominantly influenced by governmental and other ‘non‐commercial’ stakeholder groups. For the implementation of externally oriented EMSs (E‐EMSs), which focus on the supply chain and network, qualitative rather than quantitative relationship characteristics between companies and the government are important. Moreover, commercial stakeholder groups (such as suppliers, clients and competitors) influence E‐EMS levels significantly. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Two are Better Than One: The Link Between Management Systems and Business Performance

Little is known about the complementary performance benefits associated with facilities’ combined use of both quality management systems (QMSs) and environmental management systems (EMSs), and how these performance benefits might differ from those associated with facilities’ use of only one of these management systems (or neither). We suggest that complementarities arise because each management system fosters the development of internal capabilities that facilitates the adoption and routine operationalization of the other, while maintaining differentiated goals that enhance strategic value. We examine these relationships using a sample of 2619 manufacturing facilities operating within six OECD countries, while controlling for self‐selection issues. Our findings support the idea of complementarity, in that facilities that adopt both QMS and EMS are more associated with positive business performance than facilities that adopt either a QMS or an EMS on its own, or no management system. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

New instruments – old practices? The implications of environmental management systems and extended producer responsibility for design for the environment

As the focus of environmental policy and management is shifting from cleaner production at the process level towards greener products, there is a need for new kinds of policy instruments and initiatives. Environmental management systems (EMSs) and extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems are efforts to overcome the limitations of the traditional regulatory approach. In this paper, I illustrate how EMSs and EPR systems have influenced the emergence of greener products in three case companies. These case studies are complemented by results from a survey on design for the environment in the electrical and electronics industry. Both the case studies and the survey indicate that the linkage between EMSs and product development is weak or completely missing. Therefore, the mere existence of an EMS can hardly be used as a convincing indicator of the implementation of an environmentally friendly design process. The results regarding the EPR systems are more positive. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Environmental Management Systems and Local Community Perceptions: the Case of Petrochemical Complexes Located in Ports

Most oil refineries and factories producing basic chemical products are located in port areas, with the result that industrial complexes potentially have a strong environmental impact on their area of influence. These externalities result in a loss of welfare for citizens residing in neighbouring areas. In a context of sustainable development, companies must integrate concerns about the natural environment in their business strategy. External stakeholders, as residents, find it difficult to visualize the actions firms take to reduce their environmental impact, and the adoption of voluntary certified environmental management systems (EMSs) acts as a signal indicating the adequate environmental behaviour of these companies. These certifications enable companies to achieve the social legitimacy they need for long‐term survival and competitiveness. In the context of a petrochemical industrial complex located in the port of Castellón (Spain), this paper primarily discusses whether such certifications – which act as signals of firms’ desirable environmental conduct – translate into higher trust in firms and lower risk perception by residents. Contrary to what might be expected, despite the widespread use by companies of voluntary and certified EMSs, the research findings confirm a relatively high citizen perception of risk regarding the industrial complex and a low trust in companies. On the other hand, the findings also show a low trust in the public institutions responsible for authorizing and monitoring firms’ activities and for enforcing possible sanctions in non‐compliance cases. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Environmental management systems and green supply chain management: complements for sustainability?

Some researchers question the legitimacy of EMSs since organizations can claim to have one when in fact they make no attempt to reduce their environmental harm. In instances where EMSs enhance an organization's environmental performance, critics argue that improvements are likely to occur within the organization's operational boundaries rather than being extended throughout the supply chain. However, previous research suggests that the organizational capabilities required to adopt an EMS may facilitate GSCM implementation and the institutional pressures to adopt both management practices are similar. Consequently, EMS adopters may have a greater propensity to expand their focus beyond their organizational boundaries and utilize GSCM practices to minimize system‐wide environmental impacts. This research illuminates the debate by empirically evaluating the relationship between EMS and GSCM practices. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Really changing the course: the limitations of environmental management systems for innovation

The paper broadens the scope of environmental management system (EMS) research by describing how EMSs can contribute to inertia in present production systems. In conjunction with other factors this inertia can inhibit dramatic shifts toward more sustainable technologies and systems. Our approach builds upon technological lock‐in theory, which focuses on market coordination and technological interdependencies as generators of inertia in technological systems. Building on this framework, we call attention to previously under appreciated non‐market social forces and institutional structures that can further reinforce lock‐in. We argue that the co‐evolutionary mechanisms that generate increasing returns for physical technologies may also be applied to social technologies, such as management systems. The paper describes the emergence of ‘EMS lock‐in’ as a path dependent evolution occurring within the context of the larger quality management paradigm. While EMS may initially produce improvements in environmental performance, EMS may also constrain organizational focus to the exploitation of present production systems, rather than exploring for superior innovations that are discontinuous. The paper questions the enthusiastic private and public sector support for EMS implementation and instead recommends an ambidextrous management approach that integrates foresight and broader stakeholder collaboration. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Stakeholders expectations of an environmental management system: some exploratory research

This paper emanates from a larger research project (see Kamp-Roelands and Bouma, 1998) which has a practical focus. This research project seeks to start the process of exploring how environmental management information systems could be designed such that they better satisfy the needs of those using the information which emerges from these systems. In order to develop this work it was necessary to first generate some information about the internal and external stakeholder needs with respect to environmental information. This task has been tackled in the context of a single site of a multinational company. For this site a range of stakeholders were identified and questioned in some detail about, inter alia, their expectations of what an environmental management system (hereafter EMS) could achieve, their motives for using environmental information, how important they viewed various pieces of information to be and their views on quality of information issues. This paper presents the data gathered from this part of the larger project and seeks to determine if there are particular aspects which should be taken into account in EMS design and whether or not internal and external stakeholders are different from each other in their expectations about EMSs. Finally, some tentative concluding remarks are made on the implications of this work for the further investigation of the EMSs.     

The ‘win–win’ paradigm and stakeholder integration

Firms are under pressure to invest in environmental management systems (EMSs) to reduce the environmental impacts of their activities. Many advocates of EMS adoption promote the idea of ‘win–win’ gains, where improvements in environmental performance are accompanied by financial rewards. The empirical evidence on this is mixed and suggests that the' right' conditions must exist within the firm for genuine environmental performance gains to materialize. The paper uses a survey of 129 Spanish manufacturing firms to investigate managerial perceptions about what these right conditions might be. Results indicate that enhanced environmental performance following EMS adoption is linked to managers' belief in the win–win paradigm, and that managers who adhere to the win–win story also tend to integrate other stakeholder demands into their business strategies. Policy implications conclude the paper. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

ISO 14001 – experiences,effects and future challenges: a national study in Austria

More than 60000 organizations worldwide have implemented environmental management systems (EMSs). About 800 of them are located in Austria. As Austria was one of the leading countries in promoting the EU scheme EMAS, and as there has been no specific study on Austrian experiences with ISO 14001, the purpose of this study is to describe the experiences with and effects of ISO 14001 in Austria. The results show that ISO 14001 often leads to reduced environmental impact, especially in the area of waste. A strong driving force behind implementation is the expected improvement of an organization's image. The average repayment time on an investment in an EMS is less than two years. Legal compliance tends to be difficult to implement, but on the other hand it works well in daily practice. To develop an EMS into a sustainability management system, the two most important challenges are to improve coordination between the EMS and the organization's strategies and to synchronize the EMS with central value chains. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Power of sustainable development: Does environmental management system certification affect a firm's access to finance?

Although prior research generated inconclusive findings between a firm's environmental management system and firm financial performance, attention to resolve this inconsistency by examining the internal channels is limited. Thus, this study focuses on a firm's access to finance and investigates whether a firm's environmental management system certification (EMS) leads to better access to finance. Based on the organizational legitimacy perspective, we hypothesize that this certification will benefit a firm with stakeholder approval and support and consequently alleviate its financial capital constraints. We further posit that the proposed relationship will be moderated by three types of legitimacy environments pertaining to how stakeholders and investors make the judgment on the environmental management system certification. We document that the proposed relationship, that is, the positive relationship between environmental management system certification and access to finance, will be stronger when the government attaches larger importance to environmental protection (regulative legitimacy), better environmental record (moral legitimacy), and better financial position (pragmatic legitimacy). Empirical analyses provide strong corroborating evidence for our predictions. These findings have important theoretical and managerial implications that are well discussed in this study.     

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN THE MINERALS INDUSTRY: THEORY AND PRACTICE

The minerals industry has a high public profile and applications for new planning permissions often attract considerable controversy. Minerals operations generate a wide range of environmental impacts from the extraction, processing, storage and transportation of the mineral and mineral products. Minerals operators have long recognised the importance of environmental issues and the industry associations have published a number of environmental codes of practice which give general guidance for performance in this field. The recent development of the BSI and CEC standards for environmental management systems (EMS) has provided a mechanism for operators to achieve better control of environmental performance and to demonstrate this through certification. The paper reports on a study of 100 UK minerals companies, carried out by questionnaire, to investigate the rate of progress in this industry with development of EMS and preferences in relation to the two standards currently available. The findings of the survey indicate a relatively high level of activity in the EMS field, perhaps suggesting that many companies have been developing systems based on environmental policies and practices already adopted. Despite this, the survey identified a clear need for more detailed guidance on common standards of environmental performance. Few companies have undertaken any assessment of the cost benefits of the EMS work carried out and some possible interpretations of this are discussed.     

Pains and gains of environmental management system certification for the sustainable development of manufacturing companies: Heterogeneous effects of industry peer learning

Environmental sustainability is a growing global concern. Environmental management systems (EMS) could be an effective strategic tool to help firms deal with their sustainable development. However, whether EMS certification pays off financially and how it takes effect can be debated. Thus far, these questions remain largely under‐researched. In particular, the effects of EMS certification on financial performance are inconclusive, and the reasons explaining the effects are underdeveloped. This study aims to enrich the current research by exploring the mediating and moderating roles from the perspective of cost‐efficiency trade‐offs to reveal how EMS certification affects financial performance. Applying a PROCESS procedure analysis and causal mediation analysis to a sample of 1,751 Chinese listed manufacturing firms from 2008 to 2016, this study shows that the effect of EMS certification on firms' financial performance is insignificant because their operating costs burden increases while their marketing efficiency and managerial efficiency improve. For the first time, this study demonstrates the moderating role of industry peer learning, as the mediating effects decrease with the growth of industry peer learning.     

Are standardized EMSs useful in local authorities? A study of how a tool from the private sector is used in the public sector

Following the trend in the private sector, standardized environmental management systems (EMSs) have been introduced in several local authorities around the world. When the tool is transferred from the private sector to the public, one can ask how useful the tool is in the new environment, since the private and the public sectors are two different types of social sphere, with different institutional logics. Taking a closer look at the situation in Sweden, this paper aims to investigate the applicability of standardized EMSs in local authorities and the public sector in general. Based on qualitative interviews with public officers in two municipalities in Sweden, it is argued that EMSs are useful in municipalities. However, the study also reveals that an EMS seems to be more suitable for technical service administrations and municipally owned companies than social service administrations. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

The impact of voluntary environmental protection instruments on company environmental performance

In the last decade there has been increasing emphasis on the use of voluntary environmental protection tools such as corporate environmental reporting (CER) and environmental management systems (EMSs). There has been relatively little research, however, on the impact of these tools on the actual environmental performance of companies. This paper presents the findings of a survey of 40 companies operating in Western Australia to determine the extent to which the implementation of two voluntary instruments has influenced company environmental performance. The research considered four questions: To what extent have CER and EMSs influenced the environmental performance of companies operating in Western Australia? What are the characteristics of these influences? How does the influence of EMSs on environmental performance compare to that of CER? Have other external factors concurrently influenced environmental performance? In general, most respondents indicated that EMSs had influenced environmental management practices to some extent. On the other hand, CER was seen more as a public relations exercise and had less impact on company practices compared with EMSs. Other factors that influenced environmental performance included pressure from clients, senior management, the public and regulators; corporate culture; and cost savings. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Executive perceptions of adopting an environmental certification program

Environmental certification is playing an increasingly important role in the strategies of many businesses. This is due in large part to consumer demand for environmentally friendly products. Little is known, however, about why executives adopt environmental certification for a product or process, or how they view the benefits and challenges of certification. This paper seeks to advance our knowledge in this area by exploring executives' perceptions of benefits and challenges associated with adopting an environmental certification program. We surveyed executives in the kitchen cabinet industry about a second party certification scheme initiated for producers in that industry. Results suggest that perceptions of the benefits and challenges of environmental certification differ significantly based on whether the company had or had not adopted the certification scheme in question. The paper considers the implications for companies considering adopting environmental certification as well as for organizations providing certification schemes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Environmental Policy in the Nordic Wood Product Industry: Insights Into Firms’ Strategies and Communication

The purpose of our study is to explore how companies operating in the Nordic wood products value chains currently use environmental performance measures in their environmental policy and communication with stakeholders. Apart from the regularly‐used environmental management certificates, the ability of wood material to store carbon and the use of sustainable forest management certificates open up interesting strategic options for firms in the implementation of their environmental policy. The primary was collected through thematic managerial interviews in 2011 from 37 companies in Finland, Sweden and Norway, of varying size, roles in the value chain, conditions for green business practices and exports. Forest certification and environmental management systems were frequently used, but managers did not always perceive them to be useful, particularly for raising environmental awareness at the final consumer level. Nevertheless, the general attitude towards using environmental performance measures was seen as positive. Companies with a business‐to‐business orientation were the most proactive in terms of environmental communication, whereas companies in consumer markets were more reactive. The key stakeholders targeted for environmental communication were value chain partners and the authorities, and only to a lesser degree employees and environmental non‐governmental organisations. The key strategic role of environmental management and communication appeared to be securing the firms against negative environmental claims. The Nordic wood industry could improve their communication if the strategic orientation is shifted from the forest certification to the use of generic eco‐labels, and most of all, to the adoption of quantitative measures like carbon footprints and environmental product declarations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

EMS models for business strategy development

This research investigation identifies the organizational barriers that can occur within large organizations to impede the introduction and development of environmental management systems (EMSs). The findings from the six case study investigations into multinational electronic and telecommunications organizations enabled the construction of four categorical models: devoid, isolated, devolved and integrated. They provide a profile of the way organizations use their EMSs and detail the types of organizational barrier that are likely to occur in each case. The models are designed to offer insight into the profile of the organization, the type of EMS being used and the operational advantages and disadvantages of using each model. They offer managers additional decision‐making tools with which to assess the EMS profile of their own organization and those of competitor organizations and to assess the effectiveness of an organization's EMS in weak and strong economic conditions. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment     

Contributions of HRM throughout the stages of environmental management: methodological triangulation applied to companies in Brazil

The purpose of this research is to analyze the contribution of human resources management throughout the evolutionary stages of environmental management in Brazilian companies. A theoretical framework concerning environmental management and its evolution and the ‘greening’ of the functional and competitive dimensions of human resource management were developed. A methodological triangulation was developed in two complimentary phases. In the first phase, data were collected from 94 Brazilian companies with ISO 14001 certification. The data collected were analyzed and processed using statistical techniques. The conclusions of the first phase supported the second phase of this empirical research. The second phase consisted of a study of multiple cases in four Brazilian companies. The results show evidence of the first known empirical study of contributions of human resource dimensions throughout the stages of environmental management in Brazilian manufacturing companies.     

Tracing business and environmental effects of environmental management systems—a study of networking small and medium‐sized enterprises using a joint environmental management system

In Hackefors Industrial District in Sweden, 26 small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) have formed an environmental network and implemented a joint environmental management system (EMS) according to ISO 14001. Based on interviews with the environmental co‐ordinators at these enterprises, the effects on business and environmental efforts and impacts are analysed. It can be concluded that the joint EMS has resulted in better relations with important stakeholders, such as existing and potential customers. For example, three‐fifths said that their EMS had made it easier to receive a contract for the sale of products and services. Several environmental improvements have been observed and are presented in the paper, many of which are considered as consequences of the EMSs. Moreover, based on observations during the study, this paper discusses how boundaries and screening affect the connection between EMSs and environmental performance. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment     

Environmental management systems,communicative action and organizational learning

In recent years, an increasing number of private as well as public organizations have been engaged with implementation and use of environmental management systems (EMSs). This raises questions as to the reasons for implementing an EMS and, not least, about the roles and contributions of an EMS in an organization. Based in particular on research on contemporary municipal environmental management in Sweden, and also drawing on EMS research and experiences in other countries, this paper argues that an EMS may be understood not only as a technical tool for analytical management, as is traditionally done, but also as a tool for communicative action and organizational learning. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.