ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses Hipp, which was the first industrial food producer in Europe to receive recognition under the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). It describes the company's experiences in the course of implementing an environmental management system in line with their already existing environmental activities. EMAS has been seen by many companies in Germany as a means to express and market their high environmental profile. Hipp had been practising environmental management long before EMAS was on the horizon, as evidenced by awards in 1989 and 1992 for proactive environmental management from an industrial working group. The environmental policy contains a commitment to protect the natural environment, reflecting the strong ethical motivation of the company owners. The ecobalance is viewed from four different levels: the state of the environment; the Hipp site; process groups; and individual processes. The platform for collaboration with Hipp's suppliers has been the company's specifications on organic cultivation in accordance with the guidelines of the relevant associations.
