| Environmental Management Solutions |
| Written by Daniel Stouffer | |
| Wednesday, 14 October 2009 | |
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Environmental management is no longer something for scientists, environmentalists and politicians to debate, rather it is a theory that must be put into practice as a result of boardroom initiatives across the land. Until the latter third of the 20th century these kinds of environmental issues had been largely ignored in real terms by commerce and industry, even though it was clear that there were potentially serious repercussions down the road.
Environmental management is no longer something for scientists, environmentalists and politicians to debate, rather it is a theory that must be put into practice as a result of boardroom initiatives across the land. Until the latter third of the 20th century these kinds of environmental issues had been largely ignored in real terms by commerce and industry, even though it was clear that there were potentially serious repercussions down the road. During the 19th and most of the 20th century, environmental issues were far from people's minds as we sought every way possible to expand, grow bigger and better. Nobody thought of any repercussions as we focused on consumption needs, first and foremost. Fossil fuels represented the best way for us to generate energy and we did not think twice about impacting our natural lands, as we grew. Environmental management solutions started to take hold in the US following the introduction of the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act in the 1960s. However, it was not until the introduction of the International Standardization Organization, ISO 14001 standard and the European Eco-management and Audit Scheme that solutions really started to take hold. With the standards came an objective criteria and it became the right thing to do for organizations to adopt the spirit of these standards and to be seen to be doing so. As it is recognized that certain businesses that are just starting off or who will operate in difficult environments could, together with emerging countries, be adversely affected if they tried to adopt the full standards as set out by ISO 14001. Other environmental management solutions have arisen, therefore, to take into account these varying circumstances. The United Nations suggests that environmental management solutions represent a "natural capital." By adopting the triple bottom-line philosophy and changing an approach to accounting in general, social performance and ecological issues are put in focus. Several environmental management solutions call for simple distinctions to be made, rather than introduction of standards, enforced compliance and auditory procedures. For example, one such system advocates that unsalables are toxic products which are neither consumable nor durable and environmental self-regulation would identify and eliminate these for the better good. For environmental management solutions to work perfectly, an integrated management approach is required. As such, each member of the organization must realize that each department is responsible for contributing to the lifecycle and as such has its own part to play with regard to environmental impact. As we pay more attention in particular to greenhouse gas emissions, this approach is becoming more and more established. Corporate sustainability is a new buzzword of our modern times. Environmental management solutions form a part of this concept, as an organization focuses on being totally environmentally efficient, even as it places emphasis on reducing carbon footprint. From a social and economic point of view, wastage is no longer tolerated and may gain notoriety as well as attract regulatory fines. The Article Author: Daniel Stouffer has a great deal of information about environmental management solutions and how a visit to www.verisae.com will benefit you. |
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