Effectiveness Of Environmental Management Systems Research Articles

Assessment of Environmental Management Performance in Wineries: A Survey-Based Analysis to Create Key Performance Indicators

This study assesses the adoption and operational effectiveness of Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) in Italian wineries, focusing on ISO 14001:2015. It evaluates commitment, planning, communication strategies, emergency preparedness, and employee training practices. Using a comprehensive survey-based methodology, the research elucidates the dynamics of EMS implementation across various scales of winery operations. The research reveals a strong commitment among wineries to environmental objectives such as waste reduction and efficient electricity and water use. However, significant deficiencies were identified in EMS policy implementation, emergency preparedness, and the uptake of ISO 14001:2015 certification, with larger wineries showing more robust engagement in environmental training than smaller ones. The study incorporates five key performance indicators (KPIs) and a predictive model using logistic regression and Random Forest to analyze the likelihood of ISO 14001 certification based on the analyzed variables. The model highlights established processes, environmental policies, and frequent reviews as significant predictors of certification. These findings contribute original value by identifying critical leverage points and barriers affecting EMS effectiveness within the wine sector. The research uncovers nuanced interactions between the scale of operations and management engagement influencing EMSs’ success. It proposes novel, survey-based KPIs essential for assessing EMS performance in wineries, demonstrating their practical utility in pinpointing areas for improvement. The research limitations include potential biases from varying participation rates among surveyed wineries, affecting extrapolation to the broader Italian wine industry. Despite these limitations, the study provides substantive practical implications, suggesting that wineries can enhance both environmental sustainability and a competitive edge by addressing gaps in EMS implementation.

The Impact of Environmental Indicators on Consumer Purchase Decisions for Food Products

This research paper analyzes consumer expectations and priorities concerning environmental indicators within the food industry. The study’s overall objective was to understand the importance of various environmental indicators on consumer purchasing decisions. A survey was conducted in Poland, utilizing a representative sample to measure participants’ opinions. Respondents were asked to assess the importance of various environmental indicators in influencing their purchasing choices. The findings underscore a high demand among Polish consumers for environmental responsibility from companies operating in the food sector. Key indicators include the effectiveness of environmental management systems, pro-environmental investments, the promotion of environmental awareness, waste management, water conservation, and attention to supply chain and wastewater issues. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of consumer preferences, offering guidance for industry stakeholders and policymakers seeking to enhance sustainability practices and align their efforts with consumer expectations in the dynamic landscape of the food sector.

ФОРМУВАННЯ СИСТЕМИ ЕКОЛОГІЧНОГО МЕНЕДЖМЕНТУ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ В АСПЕКТІ ВІДНОВЛЕННЯ СТАЛОГО РОЗВИТКУ РЕГІОНІВ

The purpose. Substantiate the theoretical and methodological foundations and provide practical recommendations for the formation of an enterprise environmental management system in the aspect of restoring the sustainable development of the regions. Methodology. In the process of research, a number of general scientific and special research methods were used, namely: deduction and induction, logical generalization, analysis, synthesis to determine the essence of the enterprise's environmental management system and problems of restoration of sustainable development of regions; system analysis using statistical data processing methods to determine the effectiveness of the enterprise's environmental management system; calculation method - to determine the values of emissions of pollutants; method of strategic planning - when developing proposals for the formation of an environmental management system. Results. The essence and features of the formation of the environmental management system of the enterprise in the aspect of restoring the sustainable development of the region are revealed. Compliance of the studied enterprise with the criteria of the environmental management system was assessed. The main difficulties in the management system of industrial companies are revealed. The main stages of the implementation of the environmental management system at the enterprise are analyzed. Methodological approaches are highlighted and the effectiveness of the environmental management system of the enterprise under study is assessed. Scientific novelty. The features of the formation of the environmental management system of the enterprise in the aspect of restoring the sustainable development of the regions are substantiated. Practical significance. The results of the study form a scientific and practical basis for the formation of an enterprise environmental management system that will contribute to the restoration of sustainable development of the regions of Ukraine.

Dynamic Models of Environmental Data Envelopment Analysis with Stock and Flow Variables

The paper devoted to the elaboration of methodological approach to the solution of dynamic problems of Environmental Data Envelopment Analysis for production facilities, whose activities are characterized by a set of variables of two different types—stock variables and flow variables. The limitations that are additionally imposed on the Production Possibility Set are studied. A task is set for assessing the comparative effectiveness of regional systems of environmental management that operate at a certain time interval. A computational example is given for assessing the comparative effectiveness of environmental management systems in the regions of the Central Federal District in the period from 2010 to 2014. The possibilities of using the developed method in practice are discussed.

Sustainable Development and Energy Policy: Actual CO2 Emissions in the European Union in the Years 1997–2017, Considering Trade with China and the USA

One of the ways of implementing the concept of sustainable development by the European Union is their energy policy. Among the three main objectives in its energy policy is a reduction in greenhouse gases (mainly CO2) emissions to at least 20% below 1990 levels by 2020. This study aims to assess the impact of international trade on actual CO2 emission in the EU, China and the USA for the period 1997–2017. For this aim, the Actual-Open CO2 emissions were calculated, taking into account the transfer of CO2 in exported products and services from China and the USA to the EU and vice versa. It is concluded that the actual CO2 emissions in China, the USA, and the EU differed from the traditionally calculated emissions. This has serious consequences for policy, as the factual level of implementation of the EU energy policy goals may be different from what is assumed. Without including the goals of energy policy into trade policy, the effectiveness of measures may be limited. This also has implications for the effectiveness of environmental management systems. When improvements rely on increasing trade with large CO2 emitting countries, the final effect may be opposed to the assumed effect.

Environmental Management Systems and Environmental Performance: The Case of Russian Energy Sector

Nowadays one of the most common organizational eco-innovations in energy companies is introducing environmental management systems (EMS). Nevertheless, the issues of environmental and economic efficiency of EMS remain controversial. The purpose of this work is to develop a methodology for assessing the effectiveness of environmental management systems of Russian energy companies certified in accordance with ISO 14001. Since Russian companies do not have EMAS conformance certificates, the issues of the effectiveness of environmental management systems under the European Environmental Management Scheme and eco-audit were not considered in this study. The study is based on the data from annual corporate reports of the largest energy companies of the Russian Federation, which have the organizational and legal form of public joint-stock companies. The selection criteria were: i) the existence of an integrated management system, which is based on a certified environmental management system; ii) the presence in the corporate reports of data on the environmental performance of the company, at least a few years before and after the introduction of EMS, sufficient for statistical analysis using a two depended samples T-test. The study has shown that the application of ISO 14001 can be considered as a condition for the development of eco-innovation, as a well-designed environmental management strategy covers the whole range of issues related to innovative development, modernization and competitiveness. The introduction of EMS is also associated with an increase in the information transparency of the entire production system of the company, which is also a positive point in terms of the development of innovative processes.

ISO 14001 certification process and reduction of environmental penalties in organizations in Sao Paulo State, Brazil

The aim of this study is to evaluate the certification process of the ISO 14001 Standard for organizations in São Paulo State, Brazil, regarding the reduction of environmental penalties imposed by the São Paulo State Environmental Agency (Companhia Ambiental do Estado de São Paulo – CETESB). The specific objectives of this study are to conduct a survey of companies certified by the ISO 14001 and penalties imposed by CETESB in these companies and to establish a correlation between the penalties and certification regarding the implementation date. It also aims to develop and apply a Penalty Reduction Indicator (PRI) to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) concerning penalty reductions. The collection of penalties imposed by CETESB covered the period from January 2001 to June 2015. As purposeful sampling criteria, companies that received more than five penalties during the period were considered, thus forming a group of fourteen companies. As a result, it was observed that in ten companies simply certifying an EMS according to the ISO 14001 did not prevent them from receiving CETESB penalties after the ISO 14001 certification, but there was a benefit of the reduction in penalties over time. In two companies, benefits related to the reduction in penalties were not observed. In two other companies, in which it was not possible to make a comparison between the periods before and after certification, the benefits were seen only over time. The Penalty Reduction Indicator (PRI) was possible for eleven out of the selected companies. The PRI calculated by the methodology showed that seven out of the eleven companies (63.6%) had an index with an acceptable score (“EXCELLENT” and “GOOD”) and four out of these eleven companies (36.4%) had a “FAIR” and “BAD” score, showing that for them, the Environmental Management System is not yet consolidated, and improvements are needed. Thus, it was concluded that implementing and certifying an EMS according to the ISO 14001 brought benefits to these companies. The reasons were implementing a preventive culture, developing methodologies and procedures to deal with important environmental aspects and impacts, actions and responses to emergencies and document control, which are all items of the ISO 14001 and may have led to less penalties imposed by the CETESB.

Exploring the link between institutional pressures and environmental management systems effectiveness: An empirical study

Institutional theory has been widely debated by scholars. A part of literature examines how institutional pressures act on company choices regarding proactive environmental strategies. However, the institutional perspective has still not completely clarified the influence of these pressures on the effectiveness of environmental management systems (EMSs) in achieving goals in terms of eco-innovation, competitiveness and corporate reputation. This paper analyses the role played by coercive, mimetic and normative forces in stimulating innovative and competitive responses by firms with an environmental certification. Using the results of a survey on 242 European EMAS-registered organisations, the paper highlights the more positive influence of mimetic and normative pressures than coercive ones. The paper contributes to the literature debate on EMSs analysed through the lens of institutional theory.

Maritime pollutants in shipping and commercial European ports based on relevant physical and biogeochemical environmental parameters (IUPAC Technical Report)

Abstract Ports are closed or semi-closed coastal systems with limited water circulation, poor flushing and weak tidal exchange. They are characterized as pollution hotspots or areas of stagnation with a variety of maritime pollutants. Nowadays, shipping and port managers aim to address environmental risk in their operations, striving to achieve suitable environmental management systems and environmental policies. In that way, environmental impacts are thoroughly considered, actions to minimize and prevent these effects are identified while human activities for prevention, reduction and mitigation of harmful consequences are managed. The current project provides details of quality and performance indicators, based on physical and biogeochemical environmental parameters required to monitor and audit the effectiveness of environmental management system and environmental policy applied in ports. These indicators will be used as powerful tools strengthening sound decisions when developing, shaping and evaluating national and local environmental management systems and policies. The selected indicators are described and their monitoring processes are presented and discussed. Examples of selected best environmental practice from various port authorities are included.

The impact of ISO 14001 on corporate environmental performance: a study of Swedish manufacturing firms

The debate concerning the environmental effectiveness of environmental management systems (EMS) based on ISO 14001 is still open and scholars have called for further studies that can explain the contrasting evidence in previous research. As a response, this study aims to contribute knowledge about the effects of ISO 14001-based EMS by presenting fact-based environmental data. The study focuses on changes in performance over a period of 12 years and includes both firms with an EMS (66 firms) and firms without one (50 firms). Consideration is given to the improvement efforts in the firms before EMS adoption making it possible to neutralize any selection effects where better environmental performance precedes ISO 14001 adoption. Analysis has been carried out using statistical methods for six different environmental areas. No statistically significant differences between certified and non-certified firms concerning the change in the rate of improvement could be found in any of the six areas. However, it can be suspected that EMS adoption has positive effects on energy use and waste production whereas the non-adopting firms seem to perform better concerning air emissions. These mixed results mirrors previous research, which is rather worrying considering the worldwide popularity of EMS based on ISO 14001 in industry.

The impact of learning effects of environmental management system on performance of renewable energy firms

The climatic change problem has resulted in increased interest in sustainable development. Firms in renewable energy industry are currently facing challenges to maintain competitiveness while keeping minimal environmental impacts. Responding to the above challenges, environmental management system (EMS) has becoming more popular within organizational policies, programs, and operating agendas. Especially, in the knowledge‐intensive industry, the learning efforts of EMS can effectively improve technological development, managing efficiency, and firm performance at the same time. Then, the aim of this article is to examine the relationships among strategic objectives, the learning effects of EMS, and firm performance in the renewable energy industry. After practical investigation, it shows that the gaps between strategic objectives and firm performance can be narrowed if suitable management skills are applied for different EMS approaches. On this basis, this article advises that suitable management controls should be employed under different EMS approaches. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 34: 1106–1112, 2015

Insights into the state of ISO14001 certification in both small and medium enterprises and industry best companies in India: the case of Delhi and Noida

Despite growing interest in, and government support for, ISO14001 certification across Asia in recent years, little is known about issues surrounding the uptake and the effectiveness of environmental management systems in this region. There is a particular void of academic work in relation to ISO certification in India and the country's large number of small and medium enterprises; a field of inquiry this paper seeks to advance. Specifically, as a means of providing a basis for classification of firms for an analysis of the state of ISO14001 in India we test the adequacy of critical factors such as nature of business, size, year of establishment and internationalisation among small and medium enterprises and industry best companies. An analysis is presented of secondary data derived from the websites of a sample of ISO14001 certified firms located in the cities of Delhi and Noida. The data show that in the area of manufacturing the highest number of ISO14001 certifications can be recorded and that established small and medium enterprises with high turnover are more likely to adopt ISO14001 certification compared to low turnover firms. The findings inform the status of environmental management systems in India and have implications for government policy intended to foster ISO14001 uptake by Indian firms.

The effectiveness of an environmental management system in selected South African primary schools

Abstract Environmental management systems were designed to be used by industrial organisations. However, in recent years, some educational institutions have implemented environmental management systems in appropriate administrative frameworks. The existing literature does not adequately address environmental management systems as tools for harmonising the environmental, social and economic realms of education for sustainable development at primary schools. The aim of this paper is to report on research into the effectiveness of environmental management systems in education for sustainable development at 60 primary schools in four provinces of the Republic of South Africa over a period of two years. A baseline survey and post-baseline surveys assessed the integration of water-, waste-, energy- and garden-related characteristics into extra-curricular activities and into the strategic visions of schools implementing environmental management systems. The data were evaluated using Cohen's effect sizes and Spearman's correlation coefficients. The results show that an environmental management system is helpful in education for sustainable development because changes in group knowledge, skills and actions that are required to address environmental features were observed. Environmental characteristics were integrated into extra-curricular school activities and into the strategic visions of the management of the schools with varying levels of success. Systems that simultaneously considered environmental, social and economic factors seemed to have been more successfully implemented than those focused only on environmental and social considerations.

Application of EMSs in a hotel context: A case study

In the last decade, hotel companies have become increasingly interested in the application of environmental management systems (EMSs). However, research on the effectiveness of EMSs in the hotel industry has been sparse. This study aims to address this research gap by exploring and evaluating the application of EMSs in a hotel context. Various approaches to EMSs are identified in the literature on environmental management and EMSs, including six core EMS elements specific to the hotel industry context. To develop a rich and deep understanding of the application of EMSs in the hotel industry, a qualitative case study was conducted in which data were collected from three levels of employees, executive, supervisory and general, from an international hotel. A series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted and relevant documents were collected for analysis. Four influential factors were identified in the formation stage of the hotel's EMS: (1) Corporate governance, (2) Piloting activities, (3) Initial gap analysis and (4) Partnership with external consultancy. It was also found that the six elements identified in the environmental management literature play important roles in the implementation of EMS in this case. In addition, although EMSs can help promote a bottom-up approach to change, a top-down approach to implementing EMSs was more suitable for a hotel with a predominantly Chinese workforce, due to cultural issues. This study identified a number of factors specifically related to EMSs to complement mainstream environmental management research.

Stakeholders and environmental management systems: a synergistic influence on environmental imbalance

This article analyzes the combined effects of stakeholder pressure and the implementation of environmental management systems on organizations’ environmental behaviors. Beyond their individual effects, the implementation of an environmental management system should enhance the effect of stakeholder pressure on environmental imbalance, defined as the divergence between what the organization does and what it should do. Information collected from 3748 industrial plants in seven countries provides empirical evidence that supports the study propositions. Therefore, this study contributes to both the debate about the effectiveness of environmental management systems and the effort to explain the complex relationship between organizations and their stakeholders in environmental matters.

Contributing institutional factors of rural environmental pollution in the process of modernization in China —In the perspective of the efficiency of environmental management system

With the development of rural pollution, its characteristic and institutional factor should be studied for pollution control through economics and sociology. Based on the data gathered from investigations by several government sectors, rural environmental pollution can be divided into two types by its sources: internal source type and external source type. The internal source type is the main component of rural pollution at present, which can be further divided into three types. Research shows that the contributing institutional factors of rural pollution issues and the effectiveness of environmental management system over rural pollution can be summarized as distinctiveness. In essence, the rural pollution issue results from the dualism of rural and urban areas’ inadaptability to rural modernization. In detail, the contributing factors can be summed up on three institutional levels. There are obvious loopholes in rural environmental management system which, in the meantime, is incapable and inadaptable to rural pollution control. There exist similar questions in the related public service system, which are intensified by inappropriate reform which brought about incompatible incentive in the recent years. However, in the eleventh five-year plan period, there are advantageous trends in the three institutional levels.

Globalization, firm-level characteristics and environmental management: A study of Japan

Using Japanese firm-level data, we identify and quantify the factors that influence the environmental management of Japanese firms. We measure 14 different aspects of a firm's environmental management and investigate how firm-level characteristics and external pressures affect the quantity and effectiveness of environmental management systems and structures. Our results show that one consequence of the growth in international trade and FDI is that Japanese firms are increasingly aware of their environmental obligations and that both regulatory and non-regulatory factors play a role in a firm's decision to quantify and manage the impact their activities have on the environment.