There is an ongoing discussion on various issues of environmental assessment, originating from presence of evidences concerning ecological deprivation as a result of economic expansion (Mohamed 138). Currently, because of economic crisis, client understanding, supply chain relationships and environmental practices pressure the organizations to implement environmental programs.
The community, especially from established states is greatly concerned regarding the impacts on health as a result of pollution. But similar concerns are a bit slow in establishing states. To avoid farther abuse on environmental protection, regulating institutions have endorsed various regulations concerning environmental protection, particularly in the UK and Europe, but the enforcement of such laws is subject to debate (Mohamed 139).
External pressure from legislations and society concerns, as well as business avenues based on environmental concerns, have forced organizations to incorporate environmental initiatives as part of their business organizing process by indicating company involvement in a broad variety of environmental operations, particularly in the manufacturing sector (Banarjee 38).
Both EIA and EA have become important tools in the monitoring and evaluation of environment-based and significant growth programs. The data derived from environment impact assessment and environment auditing activities offers significant details to numerous diverse interested groups.
Although assumed principally as tools in business, innovative use of EIA and EA approaches can enhance precision and communication in various aspects of community where there are needs for higher appreciation of relationships between environment and ecosystem (Pernilla 21).
This essay presents the benefits of using the two tools in an organization. To effectively illustrate these benefits, the essay aims at the application of EIA and EA to assess the basic metrics regarding the environmental initiative as successful tools to assess and improve business operation.
Literature
Dunk (720) examines how product and integration of environmental initiatives positively impact quality improvement. He proposed that adopting of environment concerns into production decision practices by applying EIA and EA would be an important step towards the promotion of quality products and overall company production. Although, the writer mathematically showed that the adoption of EIA and EA positively impacts quality improvement, he failed to measure extra aspects that can compromise quality standards.
Pernilla (22) discusses on the application of website as a data system for distribution of environment-based data to the society. Pernilla also explains the information about environment impact assessment for programs in Athens, as well as the geographical data platform and its application.
This particular program entails the usage likelihoods indicated above while incorporating ecological assessment and auditing through the web. The outcomes presented by Pernilla illustrate an important growth in the capacity of regulative institutions to expand their environment planning capability and to disseminate information to the society about possible environmental dangers.
Dittenhofer (42) explains the qualitative data about environmental concerns needed by managerial and the audit group in order to safeguard the company. Dittenhofer discusses on EIA and EA process. The author asserted that external auditing firms could carry out environmental assessment and auditing.
Also, the author discussed the right of polluting the ecosystem to a restricted level as described in the Clean Environment Legislation of 1990. He also outlined 13 ways for carrying out a successful environmental audit. The author failed to vividly indicate the use of EIA and EA operations to evaluate and determine possible environmental crisis and its associated costs.
Methodology
Environmental assessment and auditing framework in production sector was applied so as identify the benefits of EIA and EA. In this framework, the environmental assessment and auditing are applied in order to identify benefits of conducting Environmental Impact Assessment and auditing on the main ecological elements of pollution (figure below).
The framework is in addition applied to assess the environmental impacts created in all necessary procedures (Dittenhofer 48). This information platform will improve business operations through suitable deployment of funds towards environmental programs.
Discussion and Findings
Environmental planning platforms (EPP), is a basic portion of a general planning model that comprise organizational structure, coordination, goals, operations, roles, processes and protocols for establishing, adopting, attaining, assessing, and sustaining environmental practices as described in ISO14001:1997 legislation; section 3.5.
As environmental assessment and auditing for organization have increased with time, significance has increased to develop a healthier appreciating of environmental assessment and audit and tap from the benefits accruing due to EIA and EA application.
The principal incentive is increasing support that environmental-associated elements can improve the profit margin and monetary level of an organization. Environmental Impact assessment is applied to evaluate all environmental implications related to operations and/or manufacturing processes before implementation, while Environmental Auditing identifies environmental implications of an ongoing/existing project (Mohamed 140).
Environmental assessment and environmental audit, in addition, can be applied in tracking environmental wellbeing of a business in more transparent way. The main regions that require assessment and auditing are: air emission, contaminated water, soil pollution and high noise rate as described by the above model.
Conventionally, EIA and EA were applied as tools for evaluating and disclosing environmental impact reducing influences towards environmental protection expenditures. However, indeed today the EIA and EA in organization have developed; interest has developed to establish a more improved appreciation to environmental-associated benefits and monetary implications as a factor to traditional assessment and auditing.
It is significant for these tools to intrinsically determine and project the gains derived from organization operations and gains from the environmental assessment suitable for a company’s strategic plan and as per the UK’s legislation on environment. The businesses require identifying the ecological impact capability and/or environmental impacts in all processes, measure and assess the environmental impacts.
The firm also needs to measure and evaluate environment protection expenditures incurred by entire production lines and activities regardless the cost advances socio-economic impacts, organization profit margin, and regardless the environment effect of organization operations suit the company’s growth that results to a system for environmental assessment and auditing (Banarjee 43).
Conclusion
The relation between the environment and business is experiencing growing awareness. Today, discussion about climate shift and ecosystem is gaining popularity in management, as well as debate on air, water and soil contamination.
Even though the continuity of financial growth is an equitable role of company, regulatory institutions and stakeholders, but the companies can assume important responsibility in minimizing environmental deprivation. This is because a company has monetary capabilities, technological know-how and organizational ability and long-lived goal of finding environmental solutions.
Firms contribute to maintainable environment through innovation and improvement of their manufacturing process so as to utilize inputs more sufficiently, reduce wastage from manufacturing processes, improve effluent discharge techniques and create a good work environment. Through effective EIA and EA, a company can witness a growth in general environmental appraisal, stakeholders’ fulfillment and organization performance.
Works Cited
Banarjee, Subhabrata. “Corporate environmental strategies and actions.” Management Decision. Print, 39 (2001): 36-44.
Dittenhofer, Mort. “Environmental Accounting and Auditing. “Managerial Auditing Journal. Print, 10(1995): 40-51.
Dunk, Allan. “Product Quality, Environmental Accounting and Quality Performance.” Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal. Print, 15(2002): 719-732.
Mohamed, Ismail. “Environmental Accounting as a Tool for Environmental Management System.” Journal of environmental Management. Print, 11(2007): 137-145.
Pernilla, Gluch. “Costs of Environmental Errors (CEE).” Greener Management International. Print, 31(2000): 20-23.