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Development of the use of standardized environmental management systems (EMSs) in local authorities
Author(s) -
Emilsson Sara,
Hjelm Olof
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
corporate social responsibility and environmental management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.519
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1535-3966
pISSN - 1535-3958
DOI - 10.1002/csr.80
Subject(s) - business , work (physics) , accounting , process management , environmental resource management , environmental planning , engineering management , operations management , engineering , geography , economics , mechanical engineering
Local authorities have used EMSs to structure their environmental efforts for some time now, and this paper studies the development over time of the use of EMSs in some Swedish local authorities. The analyses depart from three development indicators: dissemination of the EMS work , the progress in the EMS cycle and the use of EMS standards . The results show that EMSs are more widely used within the local authorities today compared with a few years ago. Before, it was mainly the technical sector that was subject to EMS implementation, but today there is a stronger emphasis on the successfulness of EMS implementation in departments within the soft sector. The study also shows that local authorities have shifted from using ISO 14001 and/or EMAS to using less formal, often locally adapted and designed standards. The paper concludes by discussing the usefulness of standards for EMS implementation in local authorities. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.