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1996 Electronics Industry Environmental Roadmap - Civil and ...

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Strategic Business Opportunities<br />

considered similar st<strong>and</strong>ards, most of these have been set aside in favor of the ISO 14000<br />

st<strong>and</strong>ards or the EU’s EMAR.<br />

The ISO 14001 st<strong>and</strong>ard is expected to be approved by the International St<strong>and</strong>ards Organization<br />

in early <strong>1996</strong>. Many observers believe that these st<strong>and</strong>ards will supplant the British, the<br />

European Union, <strong>and</strong> other environmental management st<strong>and</strong>ards in other countries <strong>and</strong> regions.<br />

ISO 14001 certification will require that firms have the basic elements of environmental<br />

management systems in place [6]. However, because ISO 14001 is not expected to establish<br />

“performance criteria” necessary for certification <strong>and</strong> because EMAR does, there is a real<br />

possibility that companies operating in the European Community will have to meet EMAR<br />

st<strong>and</strong>ards in areas that are not addressed by the ISO 14000 st<strong>and</strong>ard.<br />

The European Union passed its Eco-Management <strong>and</strong> Audit Regulation 1836/93 in June 1993.<br />

This regulation established an Eco-Management <strong>and</strong> Audit Scheme (EMAS) that can be<br />

voluntarily adopted by industrial facilities as of April 1995. The scheme codified by EMAR<br />

requires an objective audit of participating firms’ environmental management systems (even to<br />

the extent of determining compliance with a firm’s environmental policies) <strong>and</strong> a public report<br />

on a firm’s environmental performance. Further development of the EU program has been<br />

delayed until after adoption of the international ISO 14001 st<strong>and</strong>ard on environmental<br />

management systems. At the present, the EU is not scheduled to consider making EMAS<br />

m<strong>and</strong>atory until July 1998.<br />

The implementation of these initiatives reflects a widespread <strong>and</strong> increasing public sophistication<br />

regarding corporate environmental management. In all likelihood, corporations will continue to<br />

experience pressure to incorporate environmental issues into their strategic decision-making<br />

process. Furthermore, the potential diversity of international environmental requirements<br />

rewards companies that can establish internationally-focused management systems. These<br />

environmental management system approaches will be more <strong>and</strong> more important in establishing<br />

a firm’s public acceptance <strong>and</strong> competitive position.<br />

15

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