Leadership and social work in the environmental management system

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Introduction

Today, environmental management has already become a regular part of everyday management practices for many enterprises. Environmental management allows enterprises to systematically solve environmental protection issues that accompany their development, products, services, and activities. The environmental management system can be implemented in organizations of any size and sphere of activity. The environmental management system is also available for implementation at service enterprises, state institutions, and non-profit associations.

Ecological management is a control system of the environment. The ecological management system is a part of the general control system, including organizational structure, planning, duty, responsibility, experience, methods, techniques, processes, and resources for development, implementation, and analysis of environmental policy. In today's global economy, the importance of environmental and social responsibility is constantly increasing. Now there are thousands of standards and guidelines on environmental aspects in the world. However, the main problem is their practical implementation. The Environmental Management System (EMS) allows implementing the requirements of these installations and standards in the company's operational activities by organizing a set of clearly defined, repeated processes (Hickey & Mohan, 2005).

Methods

Environmental management methodology is a teaching of learning methods. At the same time, there are two main concepts of this definition: one of them considers "methodology" and "method" as synonyms, and therefore, the dialectical method of a single methodology of all sciences of nature, society, man; the second one defines methodology as a system, that implements three following functions: creating of new knowledge, structuring of this knowledge in the form of new concepts, categories, laws, hypotheses, theoretical ideas, theories; organization of new knowledge in social practice. It is the second approach that is used in the study of the theoretical foundations of environmental management.

Results

What tools can be used in the development or improvement of the company's environmental management system? First, it is planning. The environmental management system is based on the principles which are set out in the environmental policy. Environmental policy is a set of rules that the company expects from its employees and a public statement in which the company announces the direction regarding specific goals and methods of doing business and its intention to comply with them.

Environmental policy preparation enables highlighting and discussing the critical aspects of activities and development with key managers, seeking the support and commitment of senior management, and identifying the needs and expectations of stakeholders.

Stakeholders, in this case, are the personnel, investors, media, and public associations, raw material suppliers, banks and insurers, consumers of products and services, supervisory and monitoring bodies, authorities, competitors, neighboring enterprises, and local population (Weber & Christopherson, 2002; Koontz & Thomas, 2006).

Environmental policy-making requires a set of tools such as a checklist and a letter from the company's head. In turn, the checklist for determining the environmental aspects applicable to activities of an organization should contain a checklist of questions, which allows making systematic analysis and identification of shortcomings in the work of a particular section of the organization. In addition to the control function, based on the checklist data, it is possible to develop further or change the company structure. Company Manager's Letter on Development and Implementation of SEM (for internal use) must contain inviting employees to promote and contribute to environmental initiatives and the official announcement of responsible persons on implementation of SEM in the company. The company's environmental policy provides information and should be posted on the official information resource of the enterprise on the Internet or stands, can be issued in the form of brochures or postcards, and can be printed on products.

Environmental policy should be formally documented, brought to employees of the company, and accessible to stakeholders.

Environmental planning covers the determination of requirements of regulations on environmental aspects of the company, setting environmental targets, as well as criteria for environmental performance assessment, identification of critical environmental aspects, assessment of environmental risks, and determination of the degree of their reduction in implementation of environmental events, and development of environmental events (Martin & Sherington, 1997; Mikkelsen, 2005). At the same time, the identification of environmental aspects is essential.

The environmental aspect is an element of an organization's activities, products, or services that interact with the environment or affect the environment. Environmental impact (environmental change) can be harmful or favorable; it is a result, in whole or in part, of the environmental aspects of an organization.

Classification of environmental aspects is the following. Direct ones - are the processes and operations that are included in the sphere of the company's management, namely main and auxiliary operations, which are accompanied by emission into the atmosphere, discharges, wastes, noise, and vibrations, transactions with waste (collecting, transportation, utilization, neutralization, placement), consumption of raw materials and natural resources together with water and fuel, use of territories and soils, transportation of raw materials, products, people in the territory and outside the enterprise, operations affecting biodiversity, and local problems (noise, vibration, smell, dust, appearance) (Mikkelsen, 2005).

Indirect ones - the results of the impact of raw materials, products, and services that the company does not directly manage: extraction, packaging, transportation of raw materials by suppliers; disposal of waste after transfer to third parties; disposal of spent products by consumers; administrative decisions on design and planning of territories; activities of contracting organizations; natural and human-made emergencies;

Environmental measurement tools, in this case, are the completion of the register of environmental aspect, mapping of the company's business processes; and compiling of information on the environmental impact of activities into a worktable (Wandersman, 1981; Weber & Christopherson, 2002). A spreadsheet is used to identify environmental aspects. It will help to ensure that the efforts are focused on the most critical issues. It will not indicate whether a particular environmental aspect has contributed to a negative impact on the company; it is likely to provide an opportunity to see what may be the causes of the problems. This information can then be used to identify further actions needed to prevent or respond to potentially adverse impacts.

The sources of information for the detection of environmental aspects of the enterprise are generally financial and technical documentation of the enterprise, draft standards of permissible environmental impact, permitting environmental documentation, statistical reporting forms, calculation of payments for the negative impact on the environment, environmental quality control protocols, compliance certificates, contracts with contracting organizations, accident and incident statistics, balance sheet and life cycle evaluation results, decisions and orders of supervisory and controlling organizations, and results of stakeholder opinion research.

In this case, environmental requirements documents are the international legal instruments: conventions, declarations, standards, state-level regulations: codes, laws, regulations, orders, national standards, norms, and rules, normative local legal acts: orders, instructions, and protocols, regulatory acts of the industry level: guidelines, methodological recommendations, instructions, maps, licenses, permits, limits, passports, projects, conclusions of examinations, and corporate-level regulations: procedures, regulations, contracts, instructions, protocols (Susskind, 1999; Hickey & Mohan, 2005).

In Ukraine, it is possible to introduce standardized environmental management systems: ISO14001 and EMAS and informal environmental management systems (Green Office). The environmental management system is part of the day-to-day management activities of an organization, which contribute to the continuous improvement of its environmental and economic activities and reduce the risks and costs associated with the environment, occupational health, and labor protection. The EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) system is designed for organizations that want to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of activities in environmental protection and inform the public about this. The environmental management system, which complies with EMAS regulations, helps enterprises follow the circular economy's principles systematically and apply them into daily activities. According to the circular economy principles, enterprises could use methods that promote more efficient use of resources in production, use and decommissioning of goods. To implement EMAS, the organization must:

In Ukraine, it is possible to introduce standardized environmental management systems: ISO14001 and EMAS and informal environmental management systems (Green Office). The environmental management system is part of the day-to-day management activities of an organization, which contribute to the continuous improvement of its environmental and economic activities and reduce the risks and costs associated with the environment, occupational health, and labor protection. The EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) system is designed for organizations that want to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of activities in environmental protection and inform the public about this. The environmental management system, which complies with EMAS regulations, helps enterprises follow the circular economy's principles systematically and apply them into daily activities. According to the circular economy principles, enterprises could use methods that promote more efficient use of resources in production, use and decommissioning of goods. To implement EMAS, the organization must:

To apply for the environmental management system, the organization can apply for a subsidy within the environmental program of the Center for Investment in the Environment. Such subsidies are divided into two following types:

- For the implementation of the informal environmental management system (e.g., Green Office) included in the circular economy program.

- For the implementation of the certified EMAS environmental management system included in the circular economy program.

The heads of organizations often perceive the responsibilities prescribed by the environmental management system as insignificant and secondary. For this reason, many try to transfer them to one or even several levels of control below. However, designing, implementing, and developing the system, understanding, and support from senior management is vital. Unlike the previous version of the standard, in the new edition of ISO 14001:2015, the Leadership section was introduced, containing a list of responsibilities of the organization's top management. However, senior management has the right to delegate authority within the organization, the standard calls for active participation and personal responsibility for the system's performance. The main changes in management requirements to leaders were as follows:

The requirement to direct the responsibility for an environmental management system to top management has been abolished; instead, this responsibility is entrusted to the senior management. When developing environmental policies and creating environmental goals, management must align them with the context of the organization and strategic direction, taking into account the expectations of all stakeholders. The new version of the standard declares the need to integrate the environmental management system's requirements into the organization's main production processes, while senior management should take responsibility for this process. Special attention is paid to staff awareness about the functioning and effectiveness of the environmental management system and the comprehensive simulation of personnel involved in its processes.

A fundamentally new approach to ensuring system performance has been formulated. In addition to the management review of the system, the new version of the standard emphasizes the responsibility of management in the planning and risk assessment phase of production and administrative processes, taking into account the environmental aspects of the organization. The involvement of personnel in the system's processes was also considered in the previous version of the standard but was not explicitly included in the area of responsibility of senior management. ISO 14001:2015 recommends the promotion and development of leadership qualities among officials at all management persons of the organization.

The new standards improvement is considered not only from management analysis and subsequent corrective events but also from the analysis of information on the results of internal audits and monitoring. Continuous improvement is the global goal of the system (Martin & Sherington, 1997; Hickey & Mohan, 2005). The organization's requirements to provide the resources necessary for the effective functioning of the environmental management system remained unchanged compared to the previous version of the standard.

Conclusions

The new version of the standard provides for deeper participation of senior management in the functioning of processes of the environmental management system. It may require a direct presence of the head during the audit, which will provide an opportunity to demonstrate, on a personal example, leadership qualities and commitment to the organization's environmental management system. If necessary, it is justified to defend the provisions given in the environmental policy and prove the need for the established environmental goals of the organization.

Organizations may need to update the environmental management system in issues related to management methods, taking into account the increased requirements of the standard for the responsibility of the organization's senior management.

References

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Hickey, S. & Mohan, G. (2005). Participation: from tyranny to transformation? Exploring new approaches to participation in development. Zed Books.

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Weber, N. & Christopherson, T. (2002). The influence of non-governmental organizations on the creation of Natura 2000 during the European policy process. Forest Policy and Economics, 4, 1–12.