Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Environmental (‘Green’) issues have become an increasingly important issue in contemporary business management. Pressure on business regarding environmental issues is increasing and is expected to continue to do so into the future. Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are thought to have a large combined effect on the environment and this area has been cited as problematic for the SME sector. This thesis investigates collaboration amongst SMEs through networks as a way to increase environmental activity in this sector – focusing on the Hackefors model (a joint ISO 14001 certification network). The empirical study of this thesis involved a survey study of 4 networks that have implemented the Hackefors model to achieve ISO 14001 in Sweden. The networks represented SMEs from a large variety of industries and the study brought a 75% response rate. It explored different aspects of the Hackefors model, such as the motives and benefits for entering the network, drawbacks and disadvantages of the model, network relations, pressures for ISO 14001 certification and the possibility of extended network relations after certification. The results showed that group ISO 14001 certification using the Hackefors model is an effective way for an SME to implement an EMS. Not only is the model successful in achieving certification, it also brings many other benefits with it. The Hackefors model can be seen as an effective way to encourage SMEs who may not have previously considered an EMS, to implement ISO 14001. In addition, it helps companies become ISO 14001 certified at a significantly lower cost and to overcome some of the problems traditionally associated with SMEs, such as size and lack of time.

The implementation of environmental management systems is a way for the Swedish government to manage the work for sustainable development via central government agencies. Environmental management systems (EMS) were originally developed as a tool for continual improvement of environmental performance in industrial companies, following the circle of “Plan, Do, Check, Act”. The aim of using EMS was to facilitate integration of environmental considerations in all agency activities, both internal and external. The purpose of the thesis is to study translation processes of environmental issues related to the EMS project in central government agencies. In order to study the construction of environmental issues in EMS work in agencies, and the consequences of these constructions in relation to ecological sustainable development, four studies have been conducted; first, a study of documents related to the EMS project; second, a study of the Swedish Road Administration and their work with EMS; third, a study of translations in the network for EMS implementation; and fourth, a focus group study of management groups in five agencies.The analysis shows how the external references have been a central part of the translation processes taking place in the EMS project. This is explained as a result of the use of the international EMS standard, ISO 14001, which has become a frequent reference in the project. The influence of ISO 14001 is explained in the thesis as a consequence of the perceived lack of interest at management and government levels in the implementation of EMS projects in agencies. Related to the common adoption are also the external, certified environmental auditors and consultants auditing the results of the EMS implementation and thereby influencing the translation processes taking place in the project. As a result the activities for sustainable development by state agencies have become an issue for the audit and judgement by private actors.Another consequence is the focus of the measurable and non-conflict environmental aspects matching the EMS rationale. Contested environmental issues however do not match the model and may therefore attain less attention of environmental management. Under the influence of the EMS rationale the translation of ecological sustainable development becomes restricted to environmental issues constructed as EMS issues. Related to this is the learning that remains restricted to the EMS rationale. A vital implication is the need for dialogue on the role of state administration for sustainable development beyond EMS activities.

I denna uppsats diskuteras problematiken kring användandet av miljöredovisningen som ett beslutsunderlag vid leverantörsval. Syftet är att ta reda på om Vattenfall AB Värme Uppsalas miljöredovisning uppfyller de krav som ställs på den av externa intressenter i egenskap av beslutsunderlag. För att uppfylla detta syfte har de externa intressenternas intressen representerats av IASB:s kvalitativa egenskaper. På grund av denna substitution har vi valt att samla in det empiriska materialet genom intervjuer med två anställda på Vattenfall AB Värme Uppsala som arbetar med miljöredovisningen. Empiriskt material har även insamlats genom en källanalys av ”Säkerhet, hälsa och miljö 2006” som är den publikation där Vattenfall AB Värme Uppsalas miljöredovisning ingår. Den teoretiska referensramen består av ISO 14001:s 17 kategorier av miljöledningssystemet, EMAS krav på offentliggörande av information samt de tidigare nämnda kvalitativa egenskaperna. Den slutsats som har uppnåtts genom att ställa empirin mot teorin är att de krav som antas ställas av externa intressenter på Vattenfall AB Värme Uppsalas miljöredovisning till viss del är uppfyllda. Företaget möter dock delvis problem när det gäller att realisera tankar som kan relateras till de kvalitativa egenskaperna.

For standardized environmental management systems (EMS) to be environmentally effective tools, they should affect important environmental aspects related to flows of materials and energy, which for manufacturing companies are closely connected to their products. This paper presents how external environmental auditors interpret and apply important product-related requirements of ISO 14001 at manufacturing companies in Sweden. The results indicate that the link between EMS and products is rather weak. Products are seldom regarded as significant environmental aspects and are therefore not within the main scope of many EMS, which are mainly focused on sites. However, all of the interviewed auditors require that some kind of environmental considerations be incorporated into product development, but these considerations are to large extent site oriented; how they are prioritized in relation to other factors such as economics and other customer priorities appears to be up to the companies. The paper includes some recommendations to strengthen the role of products within the framework of standardized EMS.

Evaluation of sustainable work within real-estate companies is a relativelynew way of working and the number of companies starting towork with this routine increases every day. Chalmersfastigheter is areal-estate company providing faculties for universities. The company ismainly focusing on decision-making and outsourcing. The aim of this essay is to evaluate decision-making processes andensuring that the right decision is made, with other words, evaluatingthe decision and not the result from the decision. By identifying whatsustainability means for Chalmersfastigheter and in which processesdecisions are made, an evaluation is easily made to see if every decisionis based on the three aspects of sustainability; ecology, economy andsocial. The result from this evaluation will highlight how Chalmersfastigheter prioritize in decisions concerning sustainabledevelopment. This study is based on the ISO 14001 standard and the definition ofsustainable development presented in the Brundtland report.Akademiska Hus is used as an example to present how another companyin the same business has operationalized sustainability. This study ismade on a request from Chalmersfastigheter and shall hopefully resultin a routine which becomes a part of their environmental managementsystem. / Utvärdering av hållbarhetsarbete inom fastighetsbolag är ett relativtnytt arbetsätt och allt fler företag har börjat etablera denna rutin i sinverksamhet. Chalmersfastigheter är ett fastighetsbolag inom universitetsverksamhetenoch jobbar som en beställarorganisation vars arbeteutgår ifrån beslutsprocesser. Uppsatsens syfte är att utvärdera beslutsprocesser, det vill säga attsäkerställa att rätt beslut har fattats. Med andra ord att utvärderabeslutet och inte det kvantitativa resultatet. Det här genom att identifieravilka hållbarhetsåtaganden ett företag har tagit, det vill säga vad deanser att hållbar utveckling är. Att identifiera vilka delprocesser verksamhetenbestår av och slutligen vilka beslut som fattas vid delprocesserna.Utifrån det här kan man urskilja om varje enskilt delbeslutupprätthåller de tre hållbarhetsaspekterna – de ekonomiska, ekologiskaoch sociala. Det vi ser utifrån det här är vad som prioriteras vid ettbeslut, när man ser detta kan man då på ett enklare sätt se om företagettillvaratar de tre hållbarhetsaspekterna. Studien utgår från ISO 14001-standarden samt Bruntlandsrapportensdefinition av hållbarhetsarbete. Chalmersfastigheter ställs gentemotAkademiska hus i en jämförelse för att se hur två företag inom sammabransch har valt att operationalisera begreppet hållbar utveckling.Studien är en beställning från Chalmersfastigheter och som förhoppningsvisska leda till en rutin som används i deras miljöledningssystem.

In modern times environmental matters have increased in importance and are being discussed more frequently, and especially in relation with company activity. One way of complying with modern standards for companies is to work with environmental management systems, and it has become quite normal for companies to certify their environmental management systems to a recognized environmental certification. Continuing on this, the purpose of our thesis is to gain a deeper understanding regarding and ultimately assess why it is that companies seek environmental certification. Additionally, we have developed a sub-purpose which is designed to help us gain a deeper understanding regarding the main purpose in a practical context. We will look at 5 production companies in Umeå that have implemented an environmental certification, specifically ISO 14001, and try to understand the reasoning behind choosing to become certified. We will also examine the environmental effectiveness of an ISO 14001 certified environmental management system. We have conducted a comparative case study with these 5 companies in Umeå. Our method of collecting primary data was to interview the companies with a qualitative semi-structured interviewing technique. In the empirical part of the thesis we focused on practically testing the theoretical material. Furthermore, we also analyzed secondary data received from the companies' websites and directly from the interviewees in order to assess the effectiveness of an ISO 14001 certified environmental management system in financial and environmental terms. Regarding the theoretical framework, we focus on two theories referred to as the legitimacy theory and the stakeholder theory, and these theories are used to explain organizational behavior. We also have theoretical material explaining the positives and negatives of environmental management systems, and also ISO 14001 certification and the reasons why companies can benefit from such certification. Our findings suggest that the matter of legitimacy, in combination with the stakeholder theory, affected all of the companies in one way or another when choosing to seek environmental certification. In what ways the companies were affected differed even though there were many similarities across the companies regarding their reasoning to become ISO 14001 certified. We also found that, despite collecting a lot of hard data illustrating the companies' environmental performance over recent years, it was difficult to directly link any improvements to ISO 14001. It was, however, stated that ISO 14001 certification for the environmental management systems did improve the overall quality and environmental focus and performance, but it is still difficult to assess this with much accuracy and certainty due to many contributing factors.

Els sistemes de gestió permeten millorar l'eficiència de les organitzacions i en aquest context, una organització pot tenir implantats múltiples sistemes. La forma preferible de gestionar-los és integrant-los, perquè s'aprofiten les sinèrgies existents entre sistemes. Existeixen molt pocs estudis empírics que analitzin la integració de sistemes. Així, l'objectiu d'aquesta tesi és conèixer i analitzar empíricament com integren les empreses els sistemes i com realitzen les auditories d'aquests.Les conclusions de l'anàlisi empírica realitzada són que les empreses:(1)integren majoritàriament els sistemes a un determinat nivell, i sembla que els models de gestió utilitzats i l'ordre d'implantació dels sistemes, condicionen aquest nivell,(2)duen a terme, majoritàriament, auditories del sistema integrades, essent el nivell d'integració de les internes superior al de les externes, i(3)en alguns aspectes, sembla que la integració de les auditories externes, està relacionada amb el nivell d'integració dels sistemes. / Management systems can improve the efficiency of organizations and in this context, an organization can have multiple systems in place. The preferable way to manage them is integrating them, so take advantage of synergies between existing systems.There are very few empirical studies that analyze systems integration. Hence, the objective of this thesis is to ascertain and analyze empirically how companies integrate systems and how perform their audits.(1)Conclusions of the empirical analysis carried out are that companies: mainly integrate systems at a certain level, and it appears that management models used and systems'implementation order, determine this level,(2)carried out, mostly, integrated system audits, being the level of integration of the internal higher than the external, and (3)in some respects, it seems that the integration of external audits is related to the level of systems integration.

Els ports de mar constitueixen una infraestructura molt important en els països costaners, tant des del punt de vista econòmic com social. Però a la vegada són sistemes molt complexes des del punt de vista ambiental, ja que poden crear impactes significatius sobre l'entorn, magnificats sovint per la seva habitual proximitat a nuclis urbans. Per tant, l'equilibri entre la conservació del medi costaner i la continuïtat de les activitats antròpiques en aquesta zona és força difícil d'aconseguir. En aquesta tesi han estat identificats els principals impactes ambientals generats per l'activitat portuària (emissions a l'aigua, a l'aire, soroll, etc.), destacant de forma especial l'impacte ambiental accidental. El primer pas per tal de minimitzar aquests impactes és dur a terme una gestió adequada dels aspectes ambientals. Per això, s'han analitzat les metodologies existents en el camp de la gestió ambiental en ports, i s'ha arribat a la conclusió que existia la necessitat de crear una metodologia específica per avaluar la gestió ambiental en ports de mar. La metodologia desenvolupada consta de dues eines, per una banda el mètode d'autodiagnosi ambiental (SDM) per avaluar l'estat de la gestió ambiental en ports i, per altra, el mètode per a identificar i valorar aspectes ambientals significatius (SOSEA).L'SDM s'estructura en forma de qüestionari i cobreix els principals requeriments dels estàndards ambientals pel que fa a la gestió ambiental (ISO 14001 i EMAS). Permet identificar els punts forts i febles de la gestió que es duu a terme, tenir la referència dels ports europeus i fixar mesures de millora ambiental.El SOSEA es basa en l'aplicació d'una matriu activitats/aspectes, un qüestionari i una llista de comprovació. A partir de la informació obtinguda en aquests apartats es pot identificar els aspectes ambientals més importants i avaluar com s'està duent a terme la seva gestió.Aquestes eines han estat desenvolupades en el marc del projecte europeu ECOPORTS (2002-2005) i, per al seu disseny i prova, s'ha treballat amb estreta col·laboració amb els ports europeus. Finalment, ambdues eines han estat aplicades a un grup de ports (Goteborg, Barcelona, Gènova, Rotterdam, etc.) i s'ha pogut veure que els resultats de la seva aplicació han estat clarament positius, tant pel que fa a la seva acceptació com a la seva utilitat. / The sea ports are very important for the coastal areas, not only from the economic point of view but also from the social one. But at the same time, they are very complex systems from the environmental point of view since the port activities may create significant impacts on the environment and also disturb the nearby urban areas. So, the equilibrium between nature conservation and port activities in this area is quite difficult to attain.The main environmental impacts created by the port activities (water emissions, air emissions, dust, etc.) have been identified in this thesis, stressing in an important way the accidental (environmental) impact.The first step in order to minimize such impacts is to undertake an adequate management of the environmental issues. In this sense, the main environmental management initiatives in port have been described, concluding that it was necessary to develop a new methodology to assess the environmental management in sea ports.The methodology developed consists of two tools, on one hand the self diagnosis method (SDM) to assess the situation of the environmental management in ports and on the other hand the strategic overview of significant environmental aspects (SOSEA) to identify and assess the significant environmental aspects.SDM is a questionnaire where the main sections required for the implementation of an environmental management system are represented. It also follows the main requirements of ISO 14001. SDM feedback allows the ports to identify the strengths and weaknesses, to compare the results with the European Benchmark and to set up measures for the environmental improvement. SOSEA is based on the application of a matrix of activities/aspects, a questionnaire and a checklist. From the information gathered in these sections it is possible to identify the significant environmental aspects and assess their management. These tools have been developed in the frame of ECOPORTS project (2002-2005), funded by the European Union. For the design and test of the tools a very close collaboration with ports has been carried out.Finally, both tools have been applied to a group of ports (Gothenburg, Barcelona, Genoa, Rotterdam, etc.) and the results of their application have been clearly positive, not only for the good acceptance of the tools but also for their utility.