Drivers,barriers and incentives to implementing environmental management systems in the food industry: A case of Lebanon

The shift in policy towards prevention and towards making producers responsible for the pollution they cause has lead corporations to limit environmental liabilities through the improvement of environmental performance. The implementation of an Environmental Management System integrates the precautionary and polluter pays principles into a firm's operations and demonstrates commitment to sustainable development. This research aims at assessing the factors influencing the implementation of ISO 14001 Environmental Management System in developing countries taking the Food Industry in Lebanon as a case example. For this purpose, primary data were collected using a field survey questionnaire that was administered to a representative sample of facilities. The results revealed that the food industry is generally more concerned with safety and quality issues rather than environmental issues. Following international food sector trend, improving environmental performance and enhancing company image are the most salient drivers to adopt ISO 14001. The lack of government support and stakeholder demand as well as the fact that ISO 14001 is not a legal requirement constitute the most salient factors hindering the adoption of the standard. Economical and organizational factors are the most significant incentives required to motivate the food industry to adopt ISO 14001. The industry is less likely to voluntarily consider adopting ISO 14001 before acquiring a quality management certification or until ISO 14001 certification gain more recognition in the international food sector. The study defines the foundations for developing strategies, policy reforms and incentive schemes to reduce the barriers of implementing ISO 14001.     

The benefits associated with ISO 14001 certification for construction firms: Turkish case

Construction firms all over the world are increasingly seeking to obtain ISO 14001. The rapid growth in the number of ISO 14001 applications in Turkey and the share from the construction sector in this number, as a leading sector, is rather striking. This paper, using a structured questionnaire survey, investigates whether there is any dependence or relation between construction firms characteristics and having ISO 14001 certification and any difference in the perceptions related to ISO 14001 by considering both firm characteristics and two different groups as certified and non-certified firms. Additionally, it examines the perceived benefits of having ISO 14001 for certified construction firms. According to the results of analysis, although there is not any difference in perceptions on ISO 14001 certification in terms of firm characteristics and being as certified and non-certified and their both positive opinions about ISO 14001 certification. There is a relation between firms characteristics and having ISO 14001 certification. ISO 14001 certification contributes to construction firms not only in terms of environmental benefits but also with corporate management and marketing effects, thus verifying that the ISO 14001 has a positive impact on the Turkish construction sector.     

The role of environmental management system on introduction of new technologies in the metal and chemical/paper/plastics industries

Pollution prevention with the use of modern cleaner technologies in industrial sectors is the cornerstone of successful environmental policy certified according to the requirements of the international standard ISO 14001. The analyses were performed with the objective of assessing general aspects of technology modernisation as a result of the ISO 14001 certification in industrial enterprises in order to develop a better understanding whether the ISO 14001 certification can accelerate initiatives for the adoption of new and cleaner technologies within the certified firms on one hand, and, on the other hand, to find out to what extent it helped to upgrade their environmental performance. The research was performed within Slovene metal and chemical (including pharmaceuticals, paper and plastics) manufacturing companies with an additional emphasis on firms which are committed to implementing the IPPC directive. In general, certified enterprises consider ISO 14001 as a very useful tool in promoting and adopting new cleaner technologies. ISO 14001 seems to be particularly important to create better conditions for the technology changes in companies which are committed to the IPPC Directive. Companies in chemical and related industries, to a much higher extent, used predominantly modified technologies to diminish their environmental impacts, while companies in metal industries, to a higher extent, used a combination of existing and new technologies after ISO 14001 certification. It seems that better environmental performance is associated with higher productivity in ISO 14001 certified firms.     

ISO 14001 certification in Brazil: motivations and benefits

Why do firms seek the ISO 14001 certification? This study presents a survey with 63 Brazilian companies from the chemical, mechanical and electronic industries. A Structural Equations Model (SEM) analyzed the relations between motivations and benefits related to the certification. An exploratory factor analysis identified four sources of motivation: reaction to pressures from the external stakeholders; proaction in expectation of future business concerns; legal concerns; and internal influences. Four dimensions characterized the benefits of an ISO 14001 certification: operational changes; financial impacts; relationship with business stakeholders (customers, competitors, suppliers); and relationship with societal stakeholders (government, society and NGOs). The motivations appear in two levels. Internal and legal motivations are the first level (antecedents), while reactive and proactive motivations are second level (consequents). Internal motivations explain reactive and proactive motivations and production benefits. Legal motivations explain proactive motivations, financial benefits, and benefits in relationships with societal stakeholders.     

ISO 14001 in environmental supply chain practices

This paper focuses on the role of ISO 14001 in environmental supply management practices in Swedish companies. It discusses the existing and potential role of ISO 14001 for three key operational tasks of environmental supply chain management: to communicate the requirements to the supplier, to motivate and enable the supplier, and to verify that the supplier follows the requirements. The study used three different research methods: interviews with environmental managers, focus group discussions and a survey of two multinational companies and their operating units in several countries.It concludes that cooperation between the purchasing and environmental functions within a company is frequently not sufficiently achieved in implementation of ISO 14001; this makes the communication of customer requirements to suppliers less efficient. Building close relationships with suppliers is important to overcome initial difficulties, but this often conflicts with having a large supplier base. For the supplier to have an ISO 14001 certificate is seldom an absolute requirement, however, preference is often given to such suppliers. The value of the ISO 14001 certificate, as a proof of environmental performance, is a combination of the supplier's environmental ambitions, the advancement of supply chain practices of the customer and the ambitions of the certification bodies. Supplier audits are not commonly used as they are resource-consuming. Monitoring and verification approaches need further development.     

Critical factors for implementing ISO 14001 standard in United States industrial companies

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an empirical study carried out on a sample of certified industrial companies that operate in the United States, with the aim of identifying some of the critical factors for successful implementation of the ISO 14001 registration process. The paper reveals that it takes most of the companies between 8 to 19 months to obtain ISO 14001 certification. In addition, the ISO 14001 elements requiring the greatest effort are: identifying environmental aspects, environmental management system (EMS) documentation, training, EMS audits, operational control, environmental management program, objectives and targets, and document control. The survey also reveals that high certification cost and lack of other available resources are the greatest obstacles for implementing the ISO 14001 standard.     

The effect of ISO 14001 certification on toxic emissions: an analysis of industrial facilities in the north of Spain

During recent decades, the impact of industrial organisations on the environment has become clearly evident. It has also become more difficult to hide and more expensive. Globally, this has caused many enterprises to put all their efforts into seeking management instruments that allow them to reduce their negative impact on the environment as well as improving their economic efficiency. This environmental interest is either voluntary or forced by customers or by legal pressure. Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) are among the many tools that have appeared to fulfil that goal and that have drawn international researchers’ attention. The most popular system and the one most often used is the ISO 14001 standard.This paper examines empirically the influence that this certification exerts on the company’s pollutant emission policy. The analysis was carried out in four regions of Spain: Asturias, Cantabria, Galicia and Castilla-León and includes 126 industrial organisations. The goal of this paper is to investigate the behaviour of the companies according to their emissions policies once they have achieved the ISO 14001 certification. In the paper the Toxics Release Index of 56 certified companies is compared with the Index of 70 non-certified companies. Through a statistical analysis based on the Student’s t-test and the Mann–Whitney U test, it was concluded that ISO 14001 does not represent an environmental proactivity signal clearly enough to result in a reduction of the company’s environmental polluting index.     

The ISO 14001 certification of a machine-process

Some process machines in industrial manufacturing can be defined machine-process: their operations can be analysed by several points of view independently from the larger manufacturing process where they are included. For a machine-process, an Ems—Environmental management system can be set up and the ISO 14001 certification reached in an ‘earlier application’ way, with the involvement of both supplier/manufacturer and client/user. The ‘earlier certification’ of machine-processes adds new contents to the product, linked to the environment, helping the market of ‘clean technologies’, and fosters the diffusion of ISO 14001 certification among supplying/manufacturing companies and clients/users whose entire process is not yet certified.A case study is presented that has been experienced in Italy. The ‘offer and design’ phase of a port mobile shiploader is completely developed by following the ‘earlier application’ scheme for ISO 14001 certification of a machine process—introduced and explained in the paper. Achieved results are shown, and the perspective of a complete application of the scheme to the following ‘detailed design and assembly’ and ‘operations’ phases of the same machine are outlined. The feasibility of such a new application of ISO 14000 standards is proved, together with its advantages, while the readiness of the market for the new sector of earlier certification of machine-processes is highlighted.     

ISO 14001 certification and financial performance: selection-effect versus treatment-effect

The paper explores the bi-directional relationship between ISO 14001 certification and financial performance with the aim of shedding light on whether better performance is due to the beneficial effects of ISO 14001 or due to selection-effects where better performance precedes accreditation. The study uses a five year longitudinal analysis to compare the financial performance of firms in Spain before and after certification. The results of a multivariate panel data analysis find that firms with better than average performance have a greater propensity to pursue accreditation but there is no evidence that improvements in performance follow certification. This suggests that the inference that environmental variables cause improved financial performance may be unwise in research studies that can only measure association.     

The state of ISO 14001 certification in Greece

Consideration is given to the evaluation of the present state of ISO 14001 implementation, as determined by the penetration of certifications and of certification agencies within industries in Greece. After identifying nearly all certified enterprises by the end of year 2004, a large cluster of 153 enterprises (circa 80.5% of all certifications), for which published information was available, are analysed. The data used concern both individual enterprises and demographic averages for respective industrial activities (determined by industry and sector). Analysis reveals ISO 14001 to be mainly accepted in manufacture, with both services and commerce to seriously lag behind. Analysis by sector, a more detailed activity indicator, shows marked ISO 14001 penetration differences between sectors, suggesting the influence of activity-related practices as a major certification driver. Evidence is also provided for the existence of a sector-related certification culture associating ISO 14001 certification decisions with ISO 9000 sector penetration levels. In addition, relatively larger enterprises, but not necessarily more profitable, seem to seek ISO 14001 certification in most sectors. Finally, analyses of all main certification agencies identified in Greece demonstrate that, with one exception, the choice of agency is mostly independent of industrial activity as well as certified enterprise size and profitability.     

Chile's environmental momentum: ISO 14001 and the large-scale mining industry – Case studies from the state and private sector

Since Chile's return to democratic government in 1990, the environment has taken on a greater significance in policy making activities. This article examines the progress Chile has made in this area with particular reference to the large-scale mining sector and the overall environmental performance of its environmental management systems (EMSs). Many large-scale mines operating in Chile have already attained ISO 14001 certification, and those that have not, are either working towards this or have an alternative system in place. Evidence of improving environmental performance is presented, and many of the challenges which lie ahead for the country and its mining industry are highlighted.     

Comparative analysis of diffusion of the ISO 14001 standard by sector of activity

In recent years there have been many approaches to understand the cross-country diffusion rate of the most common environmental management standards issued by the International Organization for Standardization, the ISO 14000 series, due to their spectacular growth around the world, even though a certain saturation has been detected in some countries. However, few studies have shed light on the diffusion process of these standards across sectors of activity. Therefore, the present paper examines whether there are patterns of diffusion of the ISO 14001 standard that are singular at specific sectors of economic activity. The analysis was carried out using a logistic curve that fits quite well to explain the nature of this growth, and instability and concentration indexes were calculated to analyze the evolution of the rankings of the sectors attending the number of certifications ISO 14001. It concludes that the diffusion among sectors is quite homogeneous: all sectors have experienced similar behavior. Moreover, the article proposes some suggestions for future research.     

Cleaner production: an economical option for ISO certification in developing countries

Since its conception in early 1990s, cleaner production has helped thousands of businesses around the world in improving environmental performance and reducing risks to their staff. Developing countries, due to their economic, social and cultural limitations are slow to adapt to new ideas. Stresses of WTO and ISO certification are hitting the developing economies hard especially the export businesses. This article re-introduces the concept of cleaner production as a self-help tool as well as an economical pathway towards ISO certification. The objective is to motivate businesses anywhere to join the sustainable development trail. A simple step-by-step procedure to develop a cleaner production program is delineated. Cleaner production opportunities and how their exploration will lead to covering many requirements of the ISO14001:2004 certification is discussed. Cleaner production opportunities in the most common automotive industry are presented along with five case studies from Australia. Special attention is given to energy efficiency. A full section is devoted to equipment-specific cleaner production opportunities.     

上海市实施ISO14001环境管理体系标准的回顾与展望

建立ISO14001环境管理体系、开展ISO14001认证工作已在我国全面展开，如何发挥环境保护行政主管部门的作用，对深入推进ISO14001标准认证至关重要。从实施ISO14001标准，促进环境保护工作发展的角度回顾了上海市实施ISO14001环境管理体系标准的历程，探讨了上海市实施 标准的未来发展趋势，并对实施过程中出现的问题提出了对策和建议。     

The diffusion of environmental management in Greece through rationalist approaches: driver or product of globalisation?

Globalisation trends in economy and governance have resulted in a change in policy instruments towards harmonised initiatives, which are considered to a great extent pivotal for countries to engage with. ISO14001 is seen as constitutive of these wider concepts and is the focus here in explaining their diffusion in national contexts.This article questions the extent to where the adoption of ISO14001 in Greece is motivated by environmental sustainability or processes of economic globalisation. It indicates that in order to facilitate progress towards sustainability through environmental management, proper institutional arrangements and a legal framework must be established and executed by the government and society at large.     

ISO14001环境管理体系对创建“绿色学校”的作用

阐述了学校引入ISO14001环境管理体系对创建“绿色学校”的意义,内容、其主要步骤为学校初始环境评审,学校环境规划,行动实施,检查评审和管理评审等5个阶段,提出了引入ISO14001后,“绿色学校”的评选有可能从外界评选走向自愿认证的新理念。     

Does ISO 14001 work in Brazil?

As a result of increasing global awareness about the importance of the environment, depletion of natural resources and legal pressures for companies to manage their processes in a sustainable manner, ISO 14001 systems have been gaining increasingly more importance in the organizational scenario. These elements are even more critical in emerging nations due to less awareness and fewer demands by governments and the population in relation to environmental issues. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to verify the benefits and difficulties of Environmental Management Systems based on ISO 14001 at industries in the state of São Paulo – Brazil (an emerging country) by conducting a survey to subsidize the proposal for actions in the public, academic and private sectors to promote the use of this standard of reference and strengthen its results in Brazil. A questionnaire was sent to 194 companies from the National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality database. 69 answered, representing a return rate of 35.36%. The main benefits identified are related to the development of preventive environmental actions, reduction in the consumption of power, water, gas and fuel oil, and a positive influence on other internal management processes. The main difficulties are related to cost increases from ISO 14001 management systems and the constant changes in environmental legislation in Brazil. Some actions are proposed at the end of the analyses to intensify the use and improve the results of this standard, such as changes in government legislation and its collective development and implementation in industries.     

Implementing environmental with other standardized management systems: Scope,sequence, time and integration

The aim of this article is to analyze how the implementation of the environmental management system (EMS) in accordance with the ISO 14001: 2004 standard has been carried out in organizations having more than one standardized Management System (MSs). In particular, four implementation aspects will be discussed, namely the different management system standards (MSSs) used for registration, for example ISO 14001, ISO 9001, OHSAS 18001, ISO 27001 and SA 8000, the order in which they were implemented, the time required for each implementation, as well as the scope of integration of these MSSs into a single Integrated Management System (IMS).In order to do so, some of the results of a survey carried out in 176 organizations registered to, at a minimum, both ISO 14001: 2004 and ISO 9001: 2000 standards for environmental and quality management, respectively, are presented. As one of the few existing empirical studies regarding the integration of multiple MSs, this research reveals the importance of the different possibilities which organizations can opt for when considering EMS implementation. For example, while most respondents implemented ISO 9001 before ISO 14001, others did so simultaneously or even applied ISO 14001 first. Furthermore, although a large majority of organizations integrated their EMS with additional standardized MSs, a small percentage did not. Apart from illustrating the survey outcomes, the article contains a detailed case analysis of four specific organizations with high environmental awareness that have implemented quality and other standardized MSs.     

大型冶金企业建立ISO14001环境管理体系之实践与创新

通过对福建三纲集团有限责任公司开展ISO14001环境体系认证分析，对CIS理念、生命周期评价思想、清洁生产方法学在建立体系中的应用进行了探讨，并提出建立和保持环境体系应注意的关键性问题。     

关于环保行政管理部门推行ISO14001标准的建议

文章提出推行ISO14001标准,实施环境管理体系认证,不仅对减少污染物的产生与排放、资源能源的节约、保护环境资源起到了重要作用,而且对改善环境管理模式,提高管理水平,特别是环境管理水平起到了重要作用,分析了环保行政管理部门推行ISO14001标准必须具备一定的条件、目的和意义,强调指出绿色行政是行政管理部门工作的目标,ISO14001标准是行政管理部门实现绿色行政的工具与保证,对环保行政管理部门推行ISO14001标准在实施过程中的若干问题进行了讨论和建议.