Environmental management within a company is introduced mainly to streamline the environmental work within the organization. Today when customer requirements are growing and concerns for environmental management is really about letting the environment be part of the company's business strategy. One way to structure this work can be to make use of environmental management systems available. The most important is the international environmental management standard ISO 14001 and the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme, EMAS. These are, as shown later, very similar. One advantage of using one or both of these systems is that they facilitate the company to prioritize between the various environmental initiatives. Likewise, this simplifies communication with customers, shareholders, insurance companies and environmental organizations. ISO 14001 is similar to the structure of the quality standard ISO 9000. The companies already certified to ISO 9000 can, usually without any major problems, add environmental practices to the quality routines established and thus simplify the certification procedure. Both systems can be certified and audited at any time. It is also possible for the company to build the eco-label criteria for the products of their environment and quality management. That way you can, without having to pay extra for labels like Svanen Swan Brand, get a third-party verification that you meet the same criteria.
Choice of strategy
Earlier, companies' environmental efforts was about to live up to society's rules and regulations. Today, reality is different. It is now a range of stakeholders, particularly environmental groups, customers, consumers and financial actors like banks and insurance companies who also formulates environmental standards and is asking for environmentally friendly products. It is about conditions that often go well beyond what laws and regulations states. Companies that realize this earlier than others and also are responsive to customers' current and future needs, has a clear comparative advantage. Environmental issues have, in other words, started to have a strategic importance. Thus it has become increasingly important to integrate environmental issues into both the operational and business plans. This requires an active and deliberate environmental leadership. Environmental awareness must be built into the entire enterprise, so that everyone to pull together and liberate the creativity of all employees. Everyone from the janitor, cleaning staff to importers, designers and staff in the marketing department must incorporate environmental thinking into their daily practice. In addition to a structured environmental work that provides a competitive advantage in the market, it has been shown that the companies have developed environmental management system that also allows cost reductions. They are about efficient utilization of resources, reduced waste, and thus reduced management costs, reduced energy and water consumption, etc. A far-sighted and active environmental management requires, among other things:
- Clearly formulated goals and visions.
- A stated commitment to environmental issues by management.
- Efficient routines for environmental work should be organized.
- Working methods for procurement and product development.
- System for monitoring and auditing environmental performance.
- Methods for evaluation and reporting environmental performance.
- Communication method for describing the manufacturing process and how products affect the environment.