Theoretical
Contents / Learning Contents |
Theorical
Contents in the module "Environment" shuold be
introduced and discussed in relation to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
in general, using, as methodological approach the "CSR Knowledge Map".
Environmental
protection
is more than just a fashion. Environment is more than producing in a ‘green’
way or achieving a green label. It demands also a special way of thinking
and acting all along the company processes lifecycle (from the moment raw
materials are bought to the moment products and services are sold,
consumed and disposed back into the nature).
The
main questions are: On what we think when we think on “Environment”?
Which could be the most relevant environmental impacts of our company
activity? On what we have to think if we want to manage our company
environmental impacts?
| Minimization
of wasting with environmental impact |
One
of the most important topics when it comes to environment in a business
framework is the minimization
of wasting with environmental impact.[1]
The
best way to produce less waste is by practicing the 3 R’s:
 Reduce
the amount and toxicity of trash you discard;
Reuse
containers and products; repair what is broken or give it to someone who
can repair it;
Recycle
as much as possible, which includes buying
products with recycled content.
| Reduce |
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Waste prevention, or "source reduction," means consuming
and throwing away less.
Ways to Reduce:
Purchasing durable,
long-lasting goods;
Seeking products and
packaging that are as free of toxics as possible;
Redesigning products
to use fewer raw materials in production, have a longer life, or
consumes less energy.
Source
reduction actually prevents the generation of waste in the first
place, so it is the most preferred method of waste management and
goes a long way toward protecting the environment.
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| Recycle |
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Recycling
turns materials that would otherwise become waste into valuable
resources. In addition, it generates a host of environmental,
financial, and social benefits. Materials like glass, metal,
plastics, and paper are collected, separated and sent to facilities
that can process them into new materials or products.
Benefits
of Recycling:
Conserves resources
for our children's future;
Prevents emissions
of many greenhouse gases and water pollutants;
Saves energy;
Supplies valuable
raw materials to industry;
Creates jobs;
Stimulates the
development of greener technologies;
Reduces the need for
new landfills and incinerators.
Buying Recycled Products
There's more about recycling than setting out your recyclables at
the curb. In order to make recycling economically feasible, we must
buy recycled products and packaging. When we buy recycled products,
we create an economic incentive for recyclable materials to be
collected, manufactured, and marketed as new products. Buying
recycled has both economic and environmental benefits. Purchasing
products made from or packaged in recycled materials saves resources
for future generations.
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Another
fundamental topic concerning Environment in a business framework is
certainly Pollution Prevention. Pollution
assumes different shapes and forms, equally relevant: air pollution (climate change, ozone
depletion, acidification, smog, health); water pollution (eutrophication,
alteration of habitats); soil
contamination (accumulation of pollutants in ecosystem) and reduction
of biological diversity.
| Air
Pollution |
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As
we all know air supplies us with oxygen which is essential for our bodies to live. Human
activities can release substances into the air, some of which can
cause problems for humans, plants, and animals.
There
are several main types
of
air pollution and well-known effects
of pollution which are commonly discussed. These include smog, acid
rain, the greenhouse
effect, and "holes"
in the ozone layer. Each of these problems has serious
implications for our health
and well-being as well as for the whole environment.
One
type of air pollution is the release of particles
into the air from burning fuel for energy. Diesel smoke is a
good example of this particulate
matter. This type of pollution is sometimes referred to as
"black
carbon" pollution. The exhaust from
burning fuels in automobiles, homes, and industries is a major
source of air pollution. Some authorities believe that even the
burning of wood and charcoal in fireplaces and barbeques can release
significant quantities of soot into the air.
Another
type of pollution is the release of noxious
gases, such as sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen
oxides, and chemical vapours. These can take part in further
chemical reactions once they are in the atmosphere, forming smog
and acid
rain.
Pollution
also needs to be considered inside
our homes, offices, and schools. Some of these pollutants can
be created by indoor activities as simple as smoking and cooking.
When it comes to air pollution, it is therefore important to
consider both indoor
and outdoor
air pollution.
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| Water
Pollution |
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Clean
fresh water is essential to life. Unfortunately, since the
Industrial Revolution, most of Europe’s rivers have been used as a
convenient way of transporting waste to the sea,
changing the natural habitats
and destroying
the biodiversity of thousands of kilometres of waterways,
harming human health, and polluting coastal waters in the process.
The
past decades have seen significant progress in treating the sewage
and industrial wastes which are being pumped into Europe’s river
systems, resulting in lower levels of most pollutants and a
measurable improvement in water
quality. The agricultural sector, on the other hand, has
not made as much progress. Nitrate levels in Europe’s rivers are
still as high as they were at the beginning of the last decade.
Not
only the quality of water but also the quantity available for human
use is of importance and more and more frequently, there are
problems with water
scarcity around large cities and in southern Europe.
Eutrophication
is the excessive enrichment of waters with nutrients and the
associated adverse biological effects, and it is still one of the
major environmental problems across Europe. European waters are
affected across the whole range from inland water bodies such as
groundwater, rivers and lakes, to transitional and coastal waters
and ecosystems in open seas. Eutrophication is caused by large
anthropogenic inputs of the nutrients nitrogen (N) and phosphorus
(P) to the aquatic environment from a range of societal sectors.
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| Soil
Contamination |
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While
soils are as essential to human society as air and water,
soil degradation has not received nearly as much attention as the
threats to these other two elements. Still soils are the basis for
90% of all human food, livestock feed, fibre, and fuel. They support
human settlements and provide raw materials and groundwater. Major
problems in Europe include: loss
of top-soil due to erosion
or building activities, contamination,
and acidification.
Lack
of attention to soil degradation can be seen not only in the lack of
European directives or soil protection targets, but also in the
scarcity of data. While, for instance, 300,000 sites across the EU
have been identified as definitely or potentially contaminated, the
best estimate is that there are 1.5 million contaminated areas.
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| Reduction
of Biological Diversity |
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Europe's
natural environment is a diverse one - it features a wide range of
genes, species, ecosystems, and habitats. This biodiversity is the
environment's 'insurance policy', because it ensures the
environment's ability to adapt to changes caused by anything from
volcanic activity to human disruption of the landscape.
Declining
biodiversity is
also an alarm bell, indicating that society's
overall impact on the environment is too heavy. Although
certain pollution levels are falling, and nature protection is
becoming better integrated into urban planning, agriculture, and
other policies, biodiversity across the EU is still under threat
from a wide range of sources.
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| Savings
in Natural Resources Consumption |
The
Earth's
natural resources
are vital to the survival and development of the human population.
However, these
resources are limited by the Earth's capability to renew
them. Freshwater, forests and harvesting products are renewable, provided
that exploitation does not exceed regeneration. Fossil
fuels and metal ores are non-renewable. Although many effects of
overexploitation are felt locally, the growing interdependence
of nations, and international trade in natural resources, make their
demand and sustainable management a global issue.
To
save the natural resources consumption by reducing the rates of depletion
of the renewable Earth resources as well finding alternative resources
sources to the non-renewable resources concern us all, as individuals and
as companies. As companies, to identify the kind of renewable and
non-renewable resources that our companies’ processes need and to find
ways and strategies to save in the consumption of these resources can be
vital, on a business long term approach.
| Instruments
and approaches to support the management of environmental impacts |
Already
available in the market, there are a lot of instruments
and approaches to support the management of environmental impacts.
We
will just mention the “product lifecycle approach”, the Eco-Management
and Audit Schema (EMAS), the Standard ISO 14000 and the European Eco-Label,
as different possible approaches to work in an integrated way and
according to established standards, the environmental issues in the
framework of a company strategy.
| Product
lifecycle approach |
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The
aim of a life-cycle oriented environmental product policy or
Integrated Product Policy (IPP) is to address environmental issues
in an integrated way and along all stages of the product life-cycle
so as to minimise
the overall negative
environmental effects of products. An integrated approach
to environmental problems along the life-cycle of a product means addressing
all stages of this product life-cycle, i.e. design, raw
materials used, production, transport/distribution, use and waste
phase. For example, companies should “think
ahead” to the use and the waste phase when designing a product,
so as to minimise pollution overall.
However, it is clear that environmental concerns cannot be regarded
in isolation and must be integrated alongside other aspects of
products such as performance, quality and safety.
In
addition, an integrated approach should also be taken to policy
making. It should be assessed where in the product life-cycle the most important environmental
problems occur and where
resources should be allocated so that they can
be used in the most efficient way. Tools such as
life-cycle assessment, materials flow analysis and environmental
indicators may be useful in this respect. Furthermore, effects of
policy measures addressing one particular stage in the product
life-cycle on other stages should be taken into account.
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| EMAS
- Eco-management
and Auditing Scheme |
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The
Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is the EU environment
management standard introduced in April 1995 by the
European Union. It is an EU voluntary instrument which acknowledges
organisations that improve their environmental performance on a
continuous basis. EMAS registered organisations are legally
compliant, run an environment management system and report on their
environmental performance through the publication of an
independently verified environmental statement. They are recognised
by the EMAS logo, which guarantees the reliability of the
information provided.
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More
information:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/emas/index_en.htm
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| ISO
14001 |
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ISO
14001
is an international environmental
management standard developed by the International
Organisation of Standardisation. The ISO 14000 family is primarily
concerned with "environmental management". This means what
the organization does to minimize harmful effects on the environment
caused by its activities, and to achieve continual improvement of
its environmental performance.
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More
information: http://www.iso.org/iso/en/ISOOnline.frontpage
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| European
Eco-label |
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The
EU Eco-label “Flower” was established in 1992 and is a
certification scheme aiming to distinguish greener and more
environmentally friendly products and services.
Over
the past ten years, the "Flower" has become a
European-wide symbol for products, providing simple and accurate
guidance to consumers.
All
products bearing the "Flower" have been checked by
independent bodies for complying with strict ecological and
performance criteria.
There
are currently twenty-three different product groups, and already
more than 250 licences have been awarded for several hundred
products.
The
EU Eco-label is administered by the European Eco-labelling Board (EUEB)
and receives the support of the European Commission, all Member
States of the European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA).
The Eco-labelling Board includes representatives such as industry,
environment protection groups and consumer organisations.
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| More
information: http://www.eco-label.com/default.htm
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