An Introduction to Corporate Environmental Management: Striving for Sustainability

384 Pages·2003·2.341 MB·English

by  Stefan Schaltegger, Roger Burritt, Holger Petersen

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An Introduction to Corporate
Environmental Management
Striving for Sustainability
Stefan Schaltegger, Roger Burritt and Holger Petersen
IntroToCEM.qx 11/4/03 3:27 pm Page 2
Prof. Dr Stefan Schalteggeris a full professor of Corporate Environmental
Management and director of the Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM) at
the University of Lüneburg, Germany. Between 1996 and 1998 he was an assistant
professor of economics leading the chair of public economics and policy at the
University of Basel, Switzerland, where he became an associate professor for
management in 1998. After his PhDin Environmental Management in 1992 he
spent one year as a visiting research fellow at the University of Washington,
Seattle, USA.
His research areas include environmental accounting and information
management, sustainable finance, sustainable entrepreneurship, stakeholder
management and the integration of environmental economics and management.
Stefan Schaltegger is member of the editorial board of the international
journals Business Strategy and the Environmentand Greener Management
International, and of the editorial advisory board of CorporateSocial Responsibility
and Environmental Management, the steering committee of the European Eco-
management and Accounting Network (EMAN-EU), the SustainAbility Faculty,
London and the board of the RIOImpulse Management Forum, Switzerland.
Stefan Schaltegger has lectured at various universities, including the
Universities of Basel and Bern, the Norwegian School of Management BI, Oslo, the
University of Jyväskylä Finland, and the HCMCUniversity of Technology, Ho Chi
Minh City, Vietnam.
[email protected]
Roger L. Burritt, BA(Jt Hons) (Lancaster, UK), M. Phil (Oxford, UK), FCPA
(Australia), CA(Australia), CMA(Australia), ACIB(London), is a Reader in the School
of Business and Information Management and member of the National Institutes
of the Environment, and Economics and Business, at The Australian National
University (ANU) in Canberra, Australia, where the environment, management and
accounting are his main areas of research and teaching. He is also the
International Co-ordinator of the Asia Pacific Centre for Environmental
Accountability (APCEA), a networking group for people with an interest in
environmental management, environmental accounting, reporting and
accountability. APCEAhas branches in Argentina, Australia, China, Japan, New
Zealand, and South Korea.
Roger has lectured widely throughout the world, is a member of the
Environmental Management Accounting Network–Asia Pacific (EMAN–AP) Steering
Committee and the Sustainability Experts Reference Group for the ACTGovernment
in Australia.
[email protected]
Holger Petersenhas been working at the UmweltBank AGNürnberg, since
January 2003. The UmweltBank AGNürnberg is a leading environmentally focused
financial institution in Germany. Between 1999 and 2002 he worked as a research
assistant to Prof. Stefan Schaltegger at the Centre for Sustainability Management
at the University of Lüneburg. His PhDwas on the subject of ecopreneurship and
strategic management. Holger conducted empirical research and wrote case
studies on the competitiveness of leading environmental companies with a special
focus on SMEs.
Together with Stefan Schaltegger, Holger Petersen has written more than ten
German course books on corporate environmental management and co-ordinated
the course materials on environmental management for the leading German
distance-learning university in Hagen. At the Centre for Sustainability
Management (CSM) he was an initiator of the world’s first MBAprogramme on
Sustainability Management and Entrepreneurship which is currently under
development.
[email protected].
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An Introduction to Corporate
Environmental Management
Striving for Sustainability
Stefan Schaltegger, Roger Burritt and Holger Petersen
2 0 0 3
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Acknowledgements
Stefan Schaltegger would like to express thanks for their support to Cornelia Fermum,
Ana González y Fandiño and Anke Schöndube.
Roger Burritt would like to thank his family in Australia, Patricia and Christopher, and
Gary Monroe for ongoing encouragement and support.
© 2003 Greenleaf Publishing Limited
Published by Greenleaf Publishing Limited
Aizlewood’s Mill
Nursery Street
Sheffield S3 8GG
UK
Printed and bound, using acid-free paper from managed forests, by
Bookcraft, Midsomer Norton, UK.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior permission in writing of the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data:
Schaltegger, S. (Stefan), 1964–
An introduction to corporate environmental management :
striving for sustainability
1. Industrial management - Environmental aspects 2. Social
responsibility of business
I. Title II. Petersen, Holger III. Burritt, Roger
658.4'08
Hardback: ISBN 1874719667
Paperback: ISBN 1874719659
IntroToCEM.qx 11/4/03 3:27 pm Page 5
Contents
Part 1:Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1. Purpose, structure and contents of this textbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2. Management and business companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3. Environmental orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4. Sustainable development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5. Business management on its way to sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6. Business management and its stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Part 2:Success factors and fields of action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
7. Balanced socioeconomic management of the
environmentalchallenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
8. Markets, efficiency and eco-efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
9. Systems of legal regulation, environmental norms
and standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
10. Partnerships and legitimacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
11. Political arenas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
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6 An Introduction to Corporate Environmental Management
Part 3:Strategic environmental management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
12. Strategic process and strategic options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
13. Basic corporate environmental strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
14. Competitive strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
15. Risk management strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Part 4:Concepts and tools of corporate environmental management . . 205
16. Eco-marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
17. Environmental accounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
18. Environmental management systems and eco-control . . . . . . . . . 293
19. Outlook and future of corporate environmental management . . . 338
Appendix: Model environmental agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
List of abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
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Part 1
Overview
Part 1
Overview
Part 2 Part 3
Success factors and fields of action Strategic environmental management
Part 4
Concepts and tools of corporate environmental management
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aa
1
_
Overview
Purpose, structure and
contents of this textbook
This textbook invites you to join in an exploration of the ways in which companies
can engage in environmental management.Companies operate in markets through,
for example,their customers,suppliers,managers and employees and these actors
help determine whether sustainable business practices aimed at reducing envi-
ronmental impacts can be successful.The following material and text should pre-
pare you for taking the environment into account in your daily business thinking and
decisions in a way that will also help you to improve your financial results.
Knowledge gained from this book will present you with the opportunity to change
your thinking and the thinking of your business about environmental issues in a
productive way.The book presents a way of creating value for your company,for
your friends and family and for you.It does this by teaching about a future where
business and individuals co-exist in a world that recognises the environmental
impacts of human activities. Such recognition leads to an empathy for reducing
these impacts to the absolute minimum while coming to understand that market-
based businesses,guided by sound governance structures,are a necessary part of an
environmentally harmonious world. Study of the book will reveal new values for
your business and for you and will present you with a personal challenge,whether
or not you are at present concerned about the interaction between business,individ-
uals and the environment.While completing the book,do engage yourself with the
material by:
a Examining whether the contents reflect your own professional experience,
take your own experience further or oppose your own views
a Noting which of the ideas presented are especially important for you,add
to your own ideas or encourage you to react (positively or negatively)
a Answering questions creatively based on your own perspective of the issues
a Encouraging yourself to be inspired by questions, which can be inves-
tigated further through other written sources of information on an issue,
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1. Purpose, structure and contents of this textbook 9
through the Internet by using keywords for searching on a topic,in con-
versations with acquaintances or by considering comments in the media
(television,press,radio,etc.)
a Relating to others who are studying with this book and to the authors if
there are matters that you would like to see added to this book or infor-
mation about further sources that you consider useful in developing your
knowledge in this area
a Thinking about and planning the ways in which you can use and imple-
ment in your own situation what you have learned
The text makes clear what an environmental orientation is, why it is good for
business management to adopt such an orientation and the range of themes within
such an orientation that are examined here.It makes things clear by using a four-
part structure (see the figures on pages 7,53,171 and 205).
The first part of this book briefly but clearly sketches the fundamental ideas and
linkages behind business management, the environment and sustainable develop-
ment.The second part outlines the criteria against which environmentally oriented
business management can be assessed and the fields of action in which success can
be achieved. After this, the third part presents a discussion and examples of
strategies for environmental management, which are linked, in the fourth part, to
important tools of environmental management,especially eco-marketing,environ-
mental accounting and eco-control.Also,the book is illustrated with a range of case
studies and examples related to the main contents of each chapter.
Although you can begin the book at the first chapter and work through until the
end of the final chapter,you may wish to move about the contents of the book in a
flexible way,especially if you want to follow up on a particular topic at the time it is
introduced.The materials are designed to be used for understanding and reference
rather than to be learned by heart.The main aim is for you to obtain a practical
understanding of the relationship between management and environmental issues.
The text is supplemented with numerous figures,references,Internet site addresses
and boxes. Boxes provide examples, definitions or additional information about
issues explained in the main text. Comments about useful literature are also
included,to help if you wish to read further about a particular issue.Several pieces
of literature are recommended as background to this course on environmental
management and a number of useful websites are also listed to help you get a quick
lead in to the subject.
Recommended reading
Schaltegger,S.,and R.L.Burritt (2000) Contemporary Environmental Accounting:Issues,Concepts
and Practice(Sheffield,UK:Greenleaf Publishing).
Welford,R.,and A.Gouldson (1993) Environmental Management and Business Strategy(London:
Pitman).
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10 An Introduction to Corporate Environmental Management
Recommended websites
The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
anulib.anu.edu.au/elibrary/search.html
BSR(Business for Social Responsibility)
www.bsr.org
Centre for Sustainability Management, University of Lüneburg, Germany
www.uni-lueneburg.de/csm
Environmental Defense
www.scorecard.org
Environmental News Network
enn.com
Greenbiz: The Resource Center on Business, the Environment and the Bottom Line
greenbiz.com
International Organisation for Standardisation
iso14000.net
Natural Resources Defense Council
www.nrdc.org
OneWorld
www.oneworld.net
Pew Center on Global Climate Change
www.pewclimate.org
Pollution Online
pollutiononline.com
Social Investment Forum
socialinvest.org
Sustainable Development Communications Network
sdgateway.net
WorkingForChange
workingforchange.com
Question for review
1.1 What are the four main sections in this book? Why do you think that each
section is important for an understanding of environmental management by
business?