ABSTRACT

Private firms and public environmental agencies today are devoting increasing amounts of attention to environmental management systems (EMSs). Managers of private organizations are learning about the EMSs that their competitors and customers have adopted and are considering the strategic advantage of implementing similar systems. They are assessing the environmental impacts of their facilities, setting goals to reduce those impacts, documenting procedures, training workers, measuring progress, and engaging third parties to assess their systems. Encouraged by the results of the EMSs they have implemented, some managers are requiring that their suppliers adopt similar systems as a condition of business. Public policy makers, too, are paying close attention to EMSs.