Environmental business management

Abstract

In today's competitive environment, pressure is placed on companies to develop environmentally friendly processes and products. Customers are becoming increasingly interested in environmentally friendly products and processes. These customers are putting pressure on companies to develop products and processes which do not have a negative impact on the environment. New environmental legislation increases pressure on companies during the development of new products and processees and in the manufacture of existing designs. This challange requires a method which is integrated into business management. There is a need for Environmental Business Management (E.B.M.) education and training for both small and large companies. The relevance of E.B.M. arises from a recognition that without E.B.M. there would be a loss of market share or potential market openings, also, the risk of the company being held liable for environmental damage caused by its processes or products thus jeopardising the future of the company. The improvement in profitability which can be obtained by apopting cost reducing environmental protection measures and by exploiting market openings for environmentally sound products is also relevant to companies. In general, there is an increasing awareness that management must ensure that a company is not affected by liability risks arising out of environmental legislation and by the risks associated with the reduced demand for environmentally damaging products. These is a need for some companies to follow and anticipate environmental demands made by large firms. It is also necessary that these companies be coonscious that good environmental management may become a requirement in raising finance. A survey was conducted involving three companies so as to determine the outcome and efforts of an E.B.M. training rpogramme (developed by the Irish Productivity Centre, Dublin). The results from the survey are given in this paper. The capabilities of companies to deal with these environmental issues and integrate them with quality management and other programmes, current approaches to environmental management withing companies and the place of training in tackling these environmental issues is covered in this paper.