Abstract
The last revision of the EMAS (Eco Management and Audit Scheme) Regulation encouraged a cluster approach to increase the participation of the organizations and to involve local stakeholders in the commitment to sustainability. Our research activity intends to partially fill the literature gap in the field by investigating the Italian cluster approach to EMAS, characterized by the creation of a cluster Managing Committee (MC)—which can receive an EMAS Cluster Certificate—in order to improve the implementation of the scheme. We investigated the effectiveness of MCs actions on different stakeholder categories in the nine Italian clusters with EMAS Cluster Certificate. We present the results of a survey conducted through different stakeholder categories in the considered clusters. The main goals of the investigation are to determine the effectiveness of EMAS Certificate for: local stakeholder involvement, network creation, environmental performance improvement and the increase in EMAS single registration. We find that EMAS Cluster Certificate is perceived as effective in improving environmental performance of the area and enhancing cluster image. Despite the recognition of these positive aspects, few organizations showed interest in EMAS registration because of the costs involved and the lack of incentives available from public institutions.
Highlights
The scientific community has recognized the existence of a strong interconnection between enterprises and their environment
Municipalities and Chambers of Commerce have among their tasks the coordination of the promotion of local sustainable development policies
The analysis showed heterogeneous effects regarding Managing Committee (MC) communication activity oriented to increase organizations’ awareness about the EMAS Cluster Certificate
Summary
The scientific community has recognized the existence of a strong interconnection between enterprises and their environment. Enterprises have to deal with different categories of stakeholders to maintain their success [1]. These categories can be identified on the basis of the relationship they have with the companies. The first group is essential to the company’s survival (e.g., shareholders and employees), the second is able to influence companies’ decisions, but it cannot directly compromise their existence [2]. Stakeholder theory has evolved from a purely business and economic to a multi-objective approach acquainting companies with social and environmental issues [4]
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