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ABSTRACT/ PURPOSE

This paper will attempt to define environmental management and outline its importance,
particularly in periods of reformation. Initially, the paper will conduct a literature review of

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environmental management in Measures and controls which are directed at environmental
conservation, the rational and sustainable allocation and utilization of natural resources, the
optimization of interrelations between society and the environment and the improvement of human
welfare for present and future generations. As well, the review will consider effective strategies for
maintaining environmental management and for assessing the impact of environmental
management and commitment of employees remaining with the organization. A subsequent section
of the paper will provide a brief overview of the current environmental catastrophe of
environmental management. Finally, the paper will recommend strategies to implement in
environmental management to maximize the opportunities for the remaining employees to maintain
environmental sustainability.

INTRODUCTION
One of humankind’s greatest challenges this century will be to ensure sustainable, just and
balanced development. The needs of current and future generations cannot be met unless there is
respect for natural systems and international standards protecting core social and en vironmental
values. In this context, it is increasingly recognized that the role of the business sector is critical.
As a part of society, it is in business’ interest to contribute to addressing common problems.
Strategically speaking, business can only flourish when the communities and ecosystems in which
they operate are healthy. Presently it is imperative that business needs to manage its relationship
with society and sur rounding environment so as to achieve and meet its core business objective.
Means business performance is also be measured on the bases of level and impact of its activity on
the envy ornament and society as a whole. Company’s responsibilities and trustworthiness in the
eyes of customers and the population is now being used as a parameter to position the companies
against its competitors. Thus top level managers are paying proper due attention on all their
activities, actions and respective impacts towards the environment and the society. Being a
strategic issue, a firms social policies require active involvement of the entire company, top
management in particular (Varadarajan & Menon, 1988). CSR subsumed a broad spectrum of
activities, ranging from internal human resource healthand safety and management, to
environmental protection, and includes every aspect of firm’s
impact on society. In fact, when pursued as an abstract to concept, CSR is not easy for the public to
comprehend. Dealing with specific present-day issues is often desirable to effective
communication; enhance the public receptiveness to a firm’s public relations effort. The Company
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might need to explain what they stand for; How CSR is carried out, how society gets benefit from
such actions (Brink et al, 2006).
As per Kotler and Lee (2005), CSR from the marketing context, while adding that decision makers
in corporate reflect an increased desire for “doing well & doing good. Companies utilize the CSR
concept strategically by selecting areas of focus that fit with their value, choosing issues related to
core products & core market, and supporting social issues that pro vide opportunities to meet their
need of being acceptable by its major stakeholders. The qual ity and level of favorable acceptance
and relationship of a company with its stakeholders is critical to its own success. In a given
consumer product manufacturing company such as BGI, the major partaker of stakeholders
measurement are consumers mostly and its employees and the surrounding communities in its area
of activity partly. Assessing to know the degree of af firmative acceptability level amongst its
major stakeholders will let the company recognize its prestige and help take needful steps for the
next level of success.
The ability to change continually and successfully is considered to be essential to any
organization’s and environmental survival. The need for ongoing change requires an organizational
ability to learn on a continual basis in a coordinated and progressive way (Zorn et al., 2000). This
has been widely considered to be a significant factor in the private sector’s ability to achieve and
maintain a competitive advantage and, in the same manner, the public sector’s ability to
demonstrate continued value and relevance for citizens. Continuous learning processes with
enhanced capacities for change are linked to the importance of past experiences and the transfer of
knowledge as factors in organizational learning (Allen et al., 2007). Research by Diane Skinner
(2004) brings these concepts together by noting the importance of “knowledge acquisition
processes and the need for organizations to share knowledge and learning as a way to maintain a
environmental sustainability” (p. 140).

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

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In recent years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on environmental management has
gradually become a leading issue in business. Heightened corporate attention to CSR has not
been entirely voluntary. Many companies awake to it only after being surprised by public
response to issues they had not previously thought were part of their sibilates. But despite their
intent, the practice and what drives them to engage is not lucid

When an organization undertakes an activity which impacts upon the environment then this affects that
environment in ways, which are not reflected in the traditional accounting of that organization. The
environment can be affected positively, through for example a landscaping project, or negatively, through
for example the creation of heaps of waste from a mining operation. These actions of an organization
impose costs and benefits upon the external environment. These costs and benefits are imposed by the
organization without consultation, and in reality form part of the operational activities of the organization.
These actions are however excluded from traditional accounting of the firm3, and by implication from its
area of responsibility. Thus we can say that such costs and benefits have been externalized. The concept of
externality therefore is concerned with the way in which these costs and benefits are externalized from the
organization and imposed upon others. Such externalized costs and benefits have traditionally been
considered to be not the concern of the organization, and its managers, and hence have been excluded from
its accounting. It must be recognized however that the quantification of the effect of such externalization,
particularly from an accounting viewpoint, is problematical and not easy to measure4, and this is perhaps
one reason for the exclusion of such effects from the organization’s accounting. It is probably fair to state
however that more costs have been externalized by organization than benefits. Hence a typical organization
has gained from such externalization and the reported value creation of such an organization has been
overstated by this failure to account for all costs and benefits. This is achieved by restricting the accounting
evaluation of the organization to the internal effects. Indeed one way in which an organization can report,
through its accounting, the creation of value is by an externalization of costs, which are thereby excluded
from the accounting of the organization’s activities.

Every organization needs to be perceived as operating in an environment. Organizations are neither


self-sufficient not self-contained. Rather they exchange resources with and dependent upon
external environment. External environment can be defined as all the forces and conditions outside
the organization that are relevant to its operation and influence the organization. Organizations take
inputs(raw materials, money, labor and energy) from the external environment, transform them into
products or services, and send back as output to the external environment. The other environment is
internal which can be defined as all the forces and conditions within the organization that

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influences its behavior. Thus, environment can be broadly classified into (1) Internal environment,
and (2) External environment.
(1) Internal Environment
Each business organization has an internal environment, which includes all the elements within the
organization's boundaries. Strictly speaking they are part of the organization itself. The major
components of the internal environment are :
a. Employees
b. Shareholders and Board of Directors
c. Culture
(2) External Environment
According to James Stoner, External environment can be defined as all elements outside an
organization that are relevant to its operation. This environmental context becomes more clear if
the external environment is further divided into two distinct segments:(1) general environment and
(2) task environment.
(a) General Environment
The general environment consists of interrelated forces that can be categorized into four elements:
1. Economic Environment
2. Socio-Culture Environment
3. Political Legal Environment
4. Technological Environment
(b) Task Environment
The task environment puts indirect pressures on business management through the institutional
processes of following elements:
1. Customers
2. Suppliers
3. Competitors
4. Financial Institution
5. Government
6. Media
Environmental Impact Assessment It's the study undasures and controls which are directed at
environmental conservation, the rational and sustainable allocation and utilization of natural
resources, the optimization of interrelations between society and the environment and the
improvement of human welfare for present and future generations.
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 Environmental Impact Assessment
 Environmental Management Planning
 Environmental Auditing
 Socio-Economic Assessment
 Solid Waste Management
 Air Quality Monitoring
 Water Quality Assessment
 Soil Quality Assessment
 Water and Wastewater Management
Environmental Impact Assessment It's the study undertaken in order to assess the effect on a
specified environment of the introduction of any new factor, which may upset the current
ecological balance. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study is a statutory requirement in
all projects that might produce considerable adverse effects. EIA does not involve any decisions
about the project, nor does it restrict the citizens' subsequent opportunities to influence the project.
The purpose of EIA is to increase the citizens' opportunities of participation and obtaining
information at an early stage of the project, and to reveal the environmental impact so that it can be
considered in the planning stage. The EIA process has to be completed before the commencement
of any project.

Environmental Management Planning

Environment Management Planning includes the identification of mitigation and compensation


measures for all the identified significant impacts. It also involves the physical planning including
work programmed, time schedule and locations for putting mitigation and compensation systems in
place, delineation of financial plan for implementing the mitigation measures in the form of
budgetary estimates and demonstration of its inclusion in the project budget estimates.

Environmental Auditing

An assessment of the nature and extent of any harm or detriment, or any possible harm or
detriment, that may be inflicted on any aspect of the environment by any activity process,
development programmed, or any product, chemical, or waste substance. Audits may be designed
to: verify or otherwise comply with environmental requirements; evaluate the effectiveness of
existing environmental management systems; or assist in planning for future improvements in
environment protection and pollution control.
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Socio-Economic Assessment

Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA) is carried out to help understand the potential range of
socio-economic impacts of a proposed change, and the likely responses of those impacted if the
change occurs. It is important to determine not only the full range of impacts, such as changes to
levels of income and employment, access to services, Quality of life, but also the understanding of
implications of each particular change. This understanding can help design impact mitigation
strategies to minimize negative and maximize positive impacts of any change on the society.

Solid Waste Management

It may be defined as the systematic administration of activities, which are provided for the
collection, source separation, storage, transportation, transfer, processing, treatment, and disposal
of solid waste. It includes non-liquid, non-soluble materials ranging from municipal garbage to
industrial wastes that contain complex and sometimes hazardous substances. Solid wastes also
include sewage sludge, agricultural refuse, demolition wastes, and mining residues.

Air Quality Monitoring

Air quality is assessed to evaluate the existing ambient conditions and to predict the anticipated
conditions after any development. Air pollution comes from many different sources: stationary
sources such as factories, power plants and smelters and smaller sources such as dry cleaners and
degreasing operations; mobile sources such as cars, buses, planes, trucks and trains; and naturally
occurring sources such as windblown dust and volcanic eruptions, all contribute to air pollution.
Air Quality can be affected in many ways by the pollution emitted from these sources.

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