Achieving eco-efficiency through design for environment

“Eco-efficiency” is a term that does not yet appear in dictionaries but has already gained considerable force in shaping the environmental policies and practices of leading corporations. The Business Council on Sustainable Development (BCSD) sounded a trumpet call with their 1992 manifesto, “Changing Course.” Due to the credibility of the companies that constitute BCSD's membership—including Dow Chemical, 3M, Northern Telecom, Ciba-Geigy, Volkswagen, Nissan, Mitsubishi, and many others—their message has had a substantial influence on the strategic thinking of company executives around the world, BCSD's concept of eco-efficiency suggests an important link between resource efficiency (which leads to productivity and profitability) and environmental responsibility. Eco-efficiency makes business sense. By eliminating waste and using resources wisely, eco-efficient companies reduce costs and become more competitive. As environmental performance standards become commonplace, eco-efficient companies will be at an advantage for penetrating new markets and increasing their share of existing markets. This article describes the business practices companies are adopting to increase their eco-efficiency and improve their competitive advantage. “Corporations that achieve ever more efficiency while preventing pollution through good housekeeping, materials substitution, cleaner technologies, and cleaner products and that strive for more efficient use and recovery of resources can be called eco-efficient.” Declaration of the Business Council on Sustainable Development, 1992.     

Corporate environmental management study shows shift from compliance to strategy

The Abt study of forty-one mostly Fortune 200 nonservice firms forms a new picture of environmental management. We present data indicating that environmental management is becoming central to corporate strategy and is being managed as an arena of competition rather than as a compliance-driven function. We look at environmental management's new role through four lenses: its relationship to strategic planning; its evolving management structures that show environment increasingly integrated into the main functions of the business; innovation in corporate environmental investments reflecting new drivers beyond compliance; and new management systems and measures of firm-wide performance that demonstrate that environment is being seen increasingly as an arena of competitive concern. We argue that much of the change is driven by three realities. First, as customers integrate environmental values into their conceptions of product quality, they are buying more products with identifiably environmental attributes. This change translates environmental management, historically a cost center, into a potential source of sales revenue, a change which cannot be underestimated. Second, recent life-threatening damage to the global ecosystem and atmosphere reframes environmental management. This moves firms toward a systemic and global approach matched to the globalization of competitive and market concerns, and it places environmental management in the strategic sphere. And third, pollution prevention in its cross-fertilization with total quality management is driving firms to focus on managing environment as an integral part of product management, and is helping them to reassess environmental performance as a contributor to productivity and innovation.     

Strategic environmental product planning within Philips sound & vision

Until now no structured methodology existed for attuning environmental considerations to the business strategy of companies. The Environmental Competence Centre of Philips Sound & Vision in The Netherlands has developed and tested a methodology for this purpose. This methodology, called Selection of STRrategic Environmen Tal CHallenges (STRETCH), has proven to lead to promising results and should therefore be actively promoted. In this article, the authors show how the application of STRETCH provides the possibility of meeting three main objectives: First, focusing on the incorporation of environmental aspects into the company's business strategy can elicit innovations that may enhance the competitive position of the company by cost reduction and/or higher market shares. Second, the environmental opportunities and threats to be expected in the future can be anticipated in an earlier phase. Through this proactive approach a company can avoid external criticism and take the lead in environmental priority setting. Third, by applying the STRETCH methodology even higher eco-efficiencies are expected to be reached than through incremental, step-by-step environmental improvements.     

Environmental Management: Testing the Win‐Win Model

The debate over the possibility of seeking competitive advantages through greener strategies versus the scarcity of such opportunities is not yet resolved. This study is an attempt to test the win-win model. The role of the variables at the core of the win-win model, such as the regulatory factors, environmental strategy and environmental innovativeness, was examined. The results validated the positive competitive and financial impact of progressive environmental strategies contingent upon the presence of favourable external and internal conditions. From purely a profitability standpoint, it is important to seek a balance between the environmental measures and market expectations. Comprehensive superiority in relative environmental performance will not necessarily lead to environmental competitive advantage.     

CSR in metallurgy sector in Greece: A content analysis

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become one of the most widespread business topics among the academic community. Various issues like environmental pollution, economic crisis, corruption, poverty are of major importance these days and besides governments and policy makers responsibility it is obvious that corporations are also part of these problems. In Europe the last 15 years, governments, NGOs, small and large enterprises are making an effort to establish in their business CSR strategies so as to become more competitive and innovative in the global market. The research presents the way 8 Greek companies from the metallurgy sector publish CSR activities and which dimensions of CSR are more common among Greek companies. The companies were selected according to a study of ICAP Group about CSR and Leading Employers in Greece. The findings reveal how Greek companies during the economic crisis make their effort to be more active especially on environmental issues, human resources, health and safety and contribution to local communities. The results of their efforts are controversial as far as their CSR strategy concerns.     

企业环境行为分析

环境行为可以定义为一个组织对其环境因素的管理结果。好的环境行为可以帮助企业获取更多的利润及在市场竞争中占据较为有利的位置。影响企业的环境行为可以用基于市场导向的、基于知识的和基于制度的方式进行分析。市场导向由顾客导向、竞争者导向、跨部门协调组成。基于知识企业环境行为分析可由公司文化、环境能力、环境行为分析。而基于制度的环境行为分析则要说明企业对感受到的压力如何反应。     

Early warning: Integrating eco‐efficiency aspects into the product development process

Improving the eco‐efficiency of products is gaining increasing attention within industry. Through eco‐efficiency, companies aim to reduce the environmental impact of their products throughout the entire life cycle, while at the same time creating promising market opportunities or reducing costs. This article describes how companies can integrate eco‐efficiency aspects into the product development process. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Quality metrics in design for environment

There is a growing commitment by manufacturers, both in the United States and abroad, to assure environmental responsibility for all of their operations. This trend is driven partly by market demands for “green” products and partly by changes in international standards and regulations. In response, leading companies are demonstrating that environmental improvement can actually increase profitability, and design for environment (DFE) is emerging as an important business practice. The ability to evaluate environmental quality in objective, measurable terms is a key component of an effective DFE capability. In particular, environmental quality metrics are essential to support goal setting, monitoring, and continuous improvement in the design of products and processes. This article describes environmental quality measurement tools and procedures, particularly as they relate to DFE. One of the challenges of performance measurement is to incorporate a life-cycle view of environmental performance into measurement tools that can be easily computed and tracked.     

Better environmental future in Europe through environmental auditing?

environmental auditing must be rejected if the aim is to make companies introduce a specific management concept. Rather, it is preferable to leave the search for effective environmental protection strategies to the competitive system, especially since the criteria for environment-oriented management in the European Community audit proposal are without substance. Environmental auditing can, however, assume a complementary function in the framework of an overall environmental policy if it is designed as an information tool with which companies provide information on the development of environmental problems deriving from their manufacturing processes and products. However, the model required to establish a framework of quantity and evaluation criteria is not available. Further, auditing does not cover products. Similarly, there are no proposals defining the evaluation procedure for ecological resource scarcity. Thus, the attempt of the Commission of the European Communities to create the elementary prerequisites for consistent and verifiable environmental auditing in the corporate sector has failed.     

The Power of Innovation and Strategic Sustainability Positioning: A Survey of the Mining Sector in Brazil

This study investigates the relationship between the power of innovation and the sustainability strategies of companies involved in the minerals extraction sector in Brazil. The study included companies associated with the Brazilian Mining Institute, and it used research surveys to gather data. Analysis of the survey data revealed that companies with highly intensive characteristics in regard to innovation and environmental activities (environmental management activities) also display offensive, or proactive, strategies for pursuing sustainability.     

Environmentally conscious product design through total quality management

The actions of governments, customers, and competitors are influencing corporate environmental management in unprecedented ways. Market requirements are affecting both revenues and costs in ways that individual firms cannot control. The uncertainty that these new requirements create underscores the critical importance of planning and implementing a systematic approach to the design of products and the processes used to build, ship, support, and recover them. In this article the author shows how Total Quality Management offers a useful framework for aligning a company'S market focus, its business plans, and its management of critical business processes. This alignment is critical, if companies are to create environmentally conscious products while remaining competitive in a global marketplace.     

Life-cycle assessment: A survey of current implementation

Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an analytical tool that evaluates the environmental consequences of a product, process, or activity across its entire life cycle. LCA is used internationally by government and industry to obtain a comprehensive perspective of the interactions between an activity and the environment and provides a method to systematically identify opportunities for improvement. The framework is integrated into environmental management programs motivated by market awareness, public perception, and cost savings. The use of LCA is driven by external forces such as eco-labels and the recent development of the ISO 14000 standards. However, LCA has many shortcomings that need to be addressed. The concerns of poor data quality, data availability, high implementation costs, subjectivity, and lack of standardization have sent LCA into a state of flux. In light of the recent surge of interest in LCA, the authors of this article have conducted a corporate survey that targets the implementation of LCA. Their goal is to determine the level of activity of LCA among known practitioners and to elucidate common themes. This article presents their findings from responses by 34 companies that were known to be actively involved in LCA or contemplating its future use.     

Metrics,decisions, and strategies: Environmental performance measurement in the electric utility industry

The twin challenges of increased competition and environmental consciousness are causing companies in the utility industry to re-examine their methods for measuring environmental performance. A new paradigm is emerging which has already appeared in other industries—treating environmental quality as a potential source of profitability and competitive advantage. This article discusses how utilities and industrial companies can develop an environmental performance measurement framework, integrate it into their strategic and operating business practices, and use it for evaluation of alternative environmental strategies.     

推动环境信息披露能改善投资效率吗？

落实企业环境责任,推动环境信息披露,有利于推动结构调整和高质量发展。本文根据《环境信息公开办法（试行）》,对发布企业社会责任报告的上市公司环境信息披露进行刻画,基于Richardson投资期望模型对投资效率进行测度,分析环境信息披露对上市公司投资效率的影响。研究发现,环境信息披露能在一定程度上缓解投资不足,但对过度投资的影响并不显著,而且环境信息披露对投资不足的缓解作用在国有企业、两权分离度高等代理成本较高的企业中表现更为显著。本文因此提出推动环境信息披露的建议,一方面发挥政府作用,加大监管压力,确保企业环境责任的落实,健全环境治理企业责任体系;另一方面发挥市场的决定性作用,强化诱致企业披露环境信息的动力,让市场形成对环境信息披露的强需求,促使企业提升环境信息披露水平。     

中央环保督察促进重污染企业绿色创新了吗？——来自上市企业绿色专利数据的证据

作为中国环境治理领域的重大制度革新,中央环保督察能否促进重污染企业绿色创新对未来中国深化环境治理体系和推动工业绿色转型具有重要参考意义。本文基于2007—2018年中国A股上市工业企业的绿色专利数据,采用双重差分模型（DID）考察中央环保督察对重污染企业绿色创新的影响。研究发现,中央环保督察显著提升了重污染企业的绿色创新水平,且该结论在一系列稳健性检验后依然成立。研究表明,中央环保督察通过提高地方环境执法力度促进企业绿色创新,并且这种促进作用只在非国有企业样本和高环境规制水平地区样本中显著。相较于数量,绿色创新质量的提升对于绿色转型更为关键。在高环境规制水平地区,中央环保督察还带来了当地重污染企业绿色创新质量的显著提升。本文为中央环保督察的绿色创新效应评估提供了基于企业层面的经验证据,并据此提出政策建议。     

企业低碳制造战略分类研究:以水泥企业为例

随着气候变化加剧,低碳发展已成为政府和学者关注的重要议题。降低工业碳排放成为实现我国经济可持续发展的当务之急。低碳制造战略是工业企业实现战略转型、应对碳排放约束和提升市场竞争力的可行策略之一,但企业低碳制造战略的研究正处于起步阶段,还缺乏低碳制造战略类型的认识。为此,本文在拓展企业制造战略竞争优先权结构要素的基础上,增加能源利用率和单位产品二氧化碳排放量为竞争优先权结构要素,构建低碳制造战略竞争优先权分类指标,由此探索企业低碳制造战略类型。本文以国内22个省(自治区、直辖市)所辖的137家水泥企业为研究对象,运用聚类分析方法,识别企业低碳制造战略的类型,结果表明:企业低碳制造战略可划分为三种类型,分别是设计者、看守者和低碳践行者。研究结果不仅有助于深入了解水泥企业低碳制造战略特点,为我国水泥企业低碳制造战略制定和实施提供决策依据,而且其理论成果也可推广至其他高耗能产业,创新引导企业有效实施基于产品全生命周期的企业低碳制造战略。     

Factors Influencing ISO 14000 Implementation in Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing Industry in Hong Kong

The worldwide trend of environmentalconcern has been driving manufacturers to strive to implement competitive strategies in environmental management.A study has been carried out to evaluate the initiatives and benefits/costs of implementing ISO 14000 Environmental Management System (EMS) standard (1996) in the Hong Kong PCB (printed circuit board) industry. The study found that manufacturers intended to implement the ISO 14000 based EMS to improve their environmental performance, and sustain their competitive position in the global market place.     

Natural resources and 'gradual' reform in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan

Among low‐income transition reformers, natural resource rents are an important initial condition that helps explain choice of reform strategy. Resource‐rich Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and resource‐poor China and Vietnam all claim to pursue gradual reform, but their strategies differ. In China and Vietnam, low resource rents have nurtured developmental political conditions and encouraged efficient resource use, which initially promoted agriculture as a dynamic market sector, capable of absorbing labour from the lagging state sector. In contrast, the scale and ease of natural resource rent extraction in the Central Asian countries has consolidated authoritarian governments that postpone reform. Despite high energy rents, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan still extract agricultural rents in ways that repress farm incentives, perpetuate environmental degradation and liquidate irrigation assets. Uzbekistan uses its rents to subsidize a manufacturing sector, that is neither dynamic nor competitive. As its dynamic sector, Turkmenistan promotes natural gas exports that depend on volatile markets. Resource‐driven development models suggest that reform is required in both countries to avert a growth collapse. Turkmenistan's large energy rent‐stream may postpone a collapse for some years, but Uzbekistan's position is already precarious: it has run down its rural infrastructure and accumulated sizeable foreign debts and will require external assistance to recover from a growth collapse. Such assistance should be made conditional on accelerated economic and political reform.