Implementing Environmental Management Systems in Danish Industry: Do We Go Beyond Compliance?

Denmark has had great success in stimulating companies, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, to implement environmental management systems. Fifteen companies had been certified according to BS 7750 by May 1995 and some of the results from a survey of these companies are sketched here. The companies' reasons for implementing a certified environmental management system are predominantly incentives from the market, as opposed to regulation or economy. In this context environmental regulation is not a strong incentive, nor is the argument that pollution prevention pays. Environmental regulation first and foremost establishes the level above which environmental management must rise. In the Danish context this is not a trivial statement as environmental regulation is already well developed. However, as soon as this level has been established, environmental regulation has less influence. The methods of environmental regulation have not contributed to establishing the foundation of environmental management systems. Environmentally certified companies are, according to the standard, obliged to make continuous improvements and thus keep ahead of environmental regulation. The survey indicates that this is so. Most companies have addressed energy and resources in their environmental management system and 40% also deal with environmental impacts before and after the company's own production; three companies even include life cycle considerations of their own products. Moreover, it is apparent that all the companies have introduced cleaner technologies through their environmental management system. Environmental management must be considered as an important supplement to existing environmental regulation, giving the more far-sighted companies a fine tool to continuously improve their environmental performance.