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Environmental management
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Environmental Management is not, as the phrase could suggest, the management of the
environment as such but rather the management of the humankind's interaction with and
impact upon the environment. The three main issues that affect managers are issues
involving politics (networking), programs (projects), and resources (i.e. money, facilities,
etc). The need for environmental management can be viewed from a variety of
perspectives. A more common philosophy and impetus behind environmental
management is the concept of carrying capacity. Simply put, carrying capacity refers to
the maximum number of organisms a particular resource can sustain. The concept of
carrying capacity, whilst understood by many cultures over history, has its roots in
Malthusian theory. A common example of the consequences of exceeding the carrying
capacity of an area is the starvation and possibly even cannibalism of the Rapanui of
Easter Island after the depletion of the island's resources. Environmental management is
therefore not the conservation of the environment solely for the environment's sake, but
rather the conservation of the environment for humankind's sake. This element of
sustainable exploitation, getting the most out of natural assets, is visible in the EU Water
Framework Directive.
Environmental management involves the management of all components of the biophysical environment, both living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic). This is due to the
interconnected and network of relationships amongst all living species and their habitats.
The environment also involves the relationships of the human environment, such as the
social, cultural and economic environment with the bio-physical environment.
As with all management functions, effective management tools, standards and systems
are required. An 'environmental management standard or system or protocol attempts to
reduce environmental impact as measured by some objective criteria. The ISO 14001
standard is the most widely used standard for environmental risk management and is
closely aligned to the European Eco Management & Audit Scheme (EMAS). As a
common auditing standard, the ISO 19011 standard explains how to combine this with
quality management. The UK has developed a phased standard (BS8555) that can help
smaller companies move to ISO 14001 in six manageable steps.
Other environmental management systems tend to be based on this standard and to
extend it in various ways:
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The Natural Step focuses on basic sustainability criteria and helps focus
engineering on reducing use of materials or energy use that is unsustainable in the
long term
Natural Capitalism advises using accounting reform and a general biomimicry and
industrial ecology approach to do the same thing
US Environmental Protection Agency has many further terms and standards that it
defines as appropriate to large-scale EMS.[citation needed]
The UN and World Bank has encouraged adopting a "natural capital"
measurement and management framework.[citation needed]
The European Union Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)
Other strategies exist that rely on making simple distinctions rather than building topdown management "systems" using performance audits and full cost accounting. For
instance, Ecological Intelligent Design divides products into consumables, service
products or durables and unsaleables - toxic products that no one should buy, or in many
cases, do not realize they are buying. By eliminating the unsaleables from the
comprehensive outcome of any purchase, better environmental management is achieved
without "systems".
[edit] Academic resources
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Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, ISSN 1618-954X, Springer
Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, ISSN: 15353966 (electronic} 1535-3958 (paper), John Wiley & Sons
Environmental Practice, ISSN: 1466-0474 (electronic) 1466-0466 (paper),
Cambridge University Press
Environmental Quality Management, ISSN: 1520-6483 (electronic) 1088-1913
(paper), John Wiley & Sons
Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, ISSN: 1360-0559
(electronic) 0964-0568 (paper), Routledge
Journal of Environmental Management, ISSN: 0301-4797, Elsevier
[edit] See also
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Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
Cleaner production
Department of Environmental Management
Environmental impact assessment
Environmental management scheme
Environmental Risk Management Authority
Environmental Quality Management
ISO 14000
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ISO 19011
ISO Guide 64
List of environmental studies topics
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_management"
Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements
since July 2007 | Environment | Sustainability | Systems ecology
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