Organizations Seek Environmental Management Solutions

November 16, 2009 Leave a Comment

Environmental management is no longer something for scientists, environmentalists and politicians to debate, rather it is a theory that must be put into practice as a result of boardroom initiatives across the land. Until the latter third of the 20th century these kinds of environmental issues had been largely ignored in real terms by commerce and industry, even though it was clear that there were potentially serious repercussions down the road.

For the longest time, big business decisions were based on how much better and how much bigger we could become and driven by consumption needs. Fossil fuels were seen as the best way forward to create energy for our burgeoning needs. Sustainability was far from people’s minds and our environment was constantly ravaged as we sought to go the extra mile.

Following the introduction of the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act in the late 1960s, environmental management solutions became more widespread. When the International Standardization Organization introduced its ISO 14001 standard, following closely on the heels of the European Eco-management and Audit Scheme, everything took off. Now a series of criteria had been laid down and it was the right thing to do for organizations to adopt the standards and for others to see that they were doing so.

A number of other environmental management solutions exist to complement or extend the ISO 14001 standard, many of which have been introduced to smaller organizations for whom the main ISO standard may be too onerous. It is recognized that full implementation of an ISO 14001 standard may have adverse trading repercussions for smaller organizations and developing countries alike.

Environmental management solutions have been put forward by the United Nations based on a natural capital approach. This advocates using accounting reform and the adoption of the triple bottom-line philosophy, to take into account ecological and social performance in addition to traditional outputs.

Some proponents of alternative environmental management solutions advocate self-regulation as a better way to proceed rather than through enforced compliance, auditory checks and other standards. As an example, consumable and durable products would then be seen as distinct from “unsalables,” otherwise classified as toxic products.

An integrated management approach to the introduction of environmental management solutions is currently favored. All elements within an organization must be aware of their contribution to the life cycle of the business product and must be internally responsible for their impact environmentally. This is in particular focus as new legislation is discussed to reduce one of the greatest environmental hazards, emission of toxic greenhouse gases.

Environmental management solutions can form part of a wider goal to help ensure that an organization achieves sustainability. As particular focus is placed on reducing a carbon footprint, the organization must also ensure that it is environmentally efficient as a whole. Wastage at all levels will not be tolerated from a societal or economic point of view, with the twin threats of reputational harm and regulatory penalty ahead.

Daniel Stouffer has much more information about environmental management solutions and how a visit to www.verisae.com can be of use to you.

Filed Under Green Business Tagged With Air Pollution, Air Quality, energy efficiency, Environment, Global Warming, Health and Fitness

Introducing Greenhouse Laws

September 30, 2009 Leave a Comment
by Daniel Stouffer

Since the dawn of the industrial age, we have come a long way and have made significant technological moves forward in what is essentially a short period of time. Once we had discovered that the fossil fuels that we find all around us could be converted to energy and thus make our way of life that much better, we did not look back. However, 300 years later we can now see how much damage the conspicuous consumption of these fuels has caused and this has lead to the call for greenhouse laws to try and reverse the damage to our environment and to stave off the potential for significant climate change.

Little did we realize as the decades went by and as we became more and more reliant on fossil fuels for our energy, that the byproduct of energy generation, production and usage was the release of damaging gases, which in large volumes created a warming effect in the atmosphere. We now realize that we must do something to severely curtail this problem and greenhouse laws are now being introduced to cut down on emissions of greenhouse gases.

Carbon dioxide equivalent gases are the main target of greenhouse laws as these products are very dangerous. A threat exists to all forms of life on the planet, as patterns change and weather events intensify. Those who are deemed to be the largest culprits, the biggest emitters of gases will be in the crosshairs of this new legislation and they will be forced to seek alternative methods of energy production.

Significant goals have been set by the UK government when it comes to reducing carbon emissions. It is intended that they will be reduced by as much as 80% within the next 40 years. To start the ball rolling, mandatory laws will come into place in that country in 2010 and 2011, requiring the major contributors to the problem to get their house in order.

A cunning “cap and trade” scheme will effectively force large emitters of carbon gases to reduce their figures, as a consequence of a value being placed on carbon itself. The scheme is part of the greenhouse laws being introduced in Britain and once the administration sets an overall limit on the total amount of gases that are permissible, market-driven forces will take care of the rest.

The British Carbon Reduction Commitment is a major step by a government and is a realization that large emitters of carbon gases will not act sufficiently through goodwill alone. Up until this point, mandatory greenhouse laws have not been tried, but it is felt that this is the best way to address the overall climate problem.

Environmentalists and scientists have long said that we need to take a serious look at the problem of climate change, although it has only been in recent times that governments have come on board. In the 90s, the Kyoto Protocol was the first significant step in the right direction but many countries did not actively follow up on their initial enthusiasm. To make any real changes work, mandatory greenhouse laws will undoubtedly be very likely.

There is considerable pressure on the United States to take some form of leadership role. Up until this point, various excuses have been given by the US administration and while the Congress is debating its own greenhouse laws, there seems some doubt as to whether they will soon be passed into law, as seen in the UK.

About the Author:
Daniel Stouffer has much more information about greenhouse laws and how a visit to www.verisae.com will aid you.
Filed Under Global Warming Tagged With Air Pollution, Air Quality, energy efficiency, Environment, Global Warming, Health and Fitness

UK Climate Legislation is a Model

September 18, 2009 Leave a Comment

For many centuries now, since the dawn of the industrial age in 1750, as a society we have been almost totally reliant on the burning of fossil fuels to create the necessary energy and associated products that we need to survive. Sadly, however, this rampant production has had a significantly negative effect on our environment, something that we have only become aware of in relatively recent times.

Recently introduced UK climate legislation has set into law policies that aim to curtail carbon dioxide emissions produced by the largest organizations. No longer will it be tolerated to emit large amounts of these greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and those who fail to curtail will be the subject of considerable financial consequences.

It would be nice to think that we are all able to take responsibility for our actions and change accordingly. We could see that excess consumption has far-reaching consequences and do something about it for the good of future generations. However, corporations are always driven ultimately by profits, even though many are making considerable attempts to embrace environmental issues. Politicians have introduced UK climate legislation to ensure that these thoughts are turned into actions.

In the modern world, market forces are invariably used to dictate whether an organization is successful and continues to operate. The UK climate legislation recently introduced reasons that these market forces will now force organizations to be environmentally aware as well, by imposing a cap on the amount of carbon emissions that they can produce without penalty.

The conversion to the role of a commodity means that an organization must now achieve efficiencies to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. UK climate legislation will ultimately have a big effect on carbon emissions by controlling the amount that each organization may “purchase” It is in the company’s best interests to cut down on its carbon bill.

We have gone too far with out action and understand that we need to play catch-up in this respect. Therefore it is likely that the majority of advanced countries will adopt a “cap and trade” program of some kind as the consequences are serious.

Opponents of UK climate legislation felt that its imposition would create unnecessary and prohibitive barriers to global trade and additional obstacles within the international trading arena. Nevertheless, the bill was among the first to specify mandatory engagement by major organizations.

The new administration of the United States is watching the UK climate legislation with a very keen interest and has indicated that it supports the concept. Many other interested parties will be watching the Carbon Reduction Commitment, the child of the British Climate Change Act of 2008 to see how it unfolds.

Daniel Stouffer has a great deal of information about the UK climate legislation and how a visit to www.verisae.com can be of use to you.

Filed Under Climate Change Tagged With Air Pollution, Air Quality, climate change legislation uk, energy efficiency, Environment, Global Warming, uk climate legislation