March/April 1996
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March/April 1996 |
by Grace Wever
With the volume of U.S. regulations approaching 80,000 pages, companies are increasingly turning to quality-based environmental management systems to minimize their compliance burden and adopt responsible stewardship. Effective integration of environment, health and safety issues into business planning also contributes positively to the bottom line. Shifting from a reactive to a proactive approach anticipates and prevents problems, and also diminishes the consumption of material, human and financial resources. In addition, proactive management minimizes liabilities and enhances the image of the organization in the eyes of the public and its customers.
The emergence of international standards for environmental management is expected to speed the trend toward quality-based environmental management. This approach focuses on customers and stakeholders, and relates performance to the expectations of both. Two frameworks have been commonly used as the backbone for such systems. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award framework was used as the basis for a quality-based matrix created by the Council of Great Lakes Industries (CGLI) in 1992. This Total Quality Environmental Management (TQEM) matrix, based on the seven Baldrige categories, provides a building-block system for implementation as well as a quantitative measurement tool.
The Deming continuous improvement cycle, developed by business strategic thinker Edwards Deming, was used as the basis for ISO 14001, an international environmental management system standard expected to be finalized by mid-1996. The two frameworks, Baldrige and Deming, are in fact highly compatible. CGLI's TQEM Matrix was revised in late 1995 to include specific ISO 14001 requirements as well as the most recent Baldrige criteria.
In 1993, CGLI received a three-year grant from the Great Lakes Protection Fund to encourage the use of a quality-based environmental management approach by regional industry. The grant supports two case studies by Carnegie Mellon University's Green Design program and the Management Institute for Environment and Business (MEB). Matthew Arnold, president of MEB, has played a lead role in developing case studies for university curricula throughout the United States. Carnegie Mellon University researchers involved in the project include Lester Lave, Noellette Conway-Schempf and Arpad Horvath. Also involved in site visits to the participating companies were two former Baldrige examiners, Nicholas Leifeld of Serigraph and David Crowell, formerly of EG&G Corporation. Both examiners were recruited through the cooperative efforts of Curt Reimann, Director of the Baldrige Office at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The first study, to be completed by the Carnegie Mellon research team this spring, focused on Kodak Park's Utilities Division, where the TQEM Matrix was used to create a more systematic approach to environmental, health and safety management. This division supplies electricity, water and steam as well as waste treatment services to operations at the 20,000-employee Kodak Park site. The TQEM Matrix is now in its third year of use by the six operating units within the division. Expected improvements include cost savings for both management and compliance, according to Robert Gomperts, the division's environmental, health and safety manager.
Occidental Chemical Corporation's Niagara plant used the TQEM Matrix to develop a quantitative scoring process and improve its environmental management system. Improvements include use of more effective environmental, health and safety policies, carrying out new environmental training programs and tracking environmental performance against goals. The Carnegie Mellon researchers should complete the case study of this plant later in 1996.
The Great Lakes Protection Fund grant to CGLI also supported several workshops for small and mid-sized industry. Sponsors for these events in 1995 included the Chicago-based Economic Development Council. The Pollution Prevention Centre in Hamilton, Ontario has also incorporated the TQEM Matrix and concepts into materials for both industry and government training programs. Based on the positive response from these workshops and the case studies, CGLI will continue to encourage the use of quality-based environment, health and safety management systems by regional industry as well as government-owned facilities through its ongoing TQEM program.
For more information, contact Grace Wever, Senior Manager, Environmental Management Practice, KPMG Peat Marwick in Philadelphia, PA and President for Environmental Affairs of CGLI. Telephone (215)299-5082; fax (215)299-1635.
A new book, Strategic Environmental Management-Using TQEM and ISO 14000 for Competitive Advantage, written by Grace Wever will be published by John Wiley & Sons this spring. The book covers environmental leadership, strategic use of information, implementation of quality-based management systems and performance measurement and contains practical tools for management such as the 70-element TQEM matrix.
Sommaire
Comme les règlements des États-Unis s'étalent sur presque 80 000 pages, les entreprises utilisent de plus en plus des systèmes de gestion environnementale axés sur la qualité pour simplifier leur conformité aux règlements et adopter des pratiques de gérance responsables. L'intégration efficace des questions environnementales, sanitaires et sécuritaires au sein de la planification commerciale aide aussi les entreprises à réaliser le meilleur bilan possible. Le passage d'une approche réactive à une méthode proactive aide à prévoir et à prévenir les problèmes, et réduit l'utilisation de précieuses ressources matérielles, humaines et financières. De plus, la gestion proactive minimise le risque de poursuites judiciaires et accroît l'image de l'organisation aux yeux du public et de ses clients.
Un nouveau livre, Strategic Environmental Management - Using TQEM and ISO 14000 for Competitive Advantage, de Grace Wever, sera publié au printemps par la maison d'édition John Wiley & Sons. Il porte sur le leadership environnemental, l'utilisation stratégique d'information et la mise en oeuvre de systèmes de gestion et de mesures du rendement axés sur la qualité; on y trouve des outils de gestion utiles comme la matrice pour la Gestion de la qualité environnementale totale, qui comprend 70 éléments.
Revised: 28 February 1997
Maintained by Kevin McGunagle,
mcgunaglek@ijc.wincom.net