Employee involvement, pollution control and pieces to the puzzle

Abstract

Employee involvement, pollution control and pieces to the puzzle [ 105 ] Dow Chemical, among others, has become famous at reducing waste and enhancing the bottom line. Dow management and employees have generated literally millions upon millions of savings through their energy conservation and Waste Reduction Always Pays programs (WRAP). For instance, in 1992 alone they saved over $20 million, and the average return on investment was 111 percent (Nelson, 1992, p. 7). These savings, in large part, have occurred because of employee involvement. Impressive results like those of Dow Chemical can only occur if employees accept continuous waste reduction as part of their daily responsibilities. It should not come as a shock. Employee involvement (EI) is critical to good quality, productivity, and profit making. Why should it not also be critical to pollution control? A pilot study Recently an anonymous questionnaire to some of the best known pollution reducing companies in the world was sent by the author. It was pilot testing, so it could be fine

Impact of Human Resource Factors on Perceived Environmental Performance: an Empirical Analysis of a Sample of ISO 14001 EMS Companies in Malaysia

“…Russo and Harrison (2005) showed by means of an empirical analysis that when managerial pay is tied to environmental performance, facilities reported improvements in their environmental performance. On the contrary Denton's (1999) survey on the some of the best known pollution reducing companies in the world revealed that rarely are incentives, bonuses, salaries and promotions based on how well environmental goals were met. His findings also showed that employees' job appraisals rarely include an environmental category.…”

“…As a matter of fact, Dow Chemical believes cash awards for employees' innovative waste reduction ideas can actually be de-motivating. Instead of receiving cash awards, employees are awarded an engraved plaque given at formal awards ceremony (Denton, 1999). Empirical findings from six environmentally proactive European firms have shown that employees responded positively with creative ideas in the environmental area if their supervisors encouraged daily praise and company environmental awards (Ramus, 2001;Ramus, 2002;Ramus & Steger, 2000).…”

“…The authors concluded that employee participation can have a strong effect on changing working routines, affecting behavior and increasing environmental consciousness. The monetary savings generated by Dow Chemical's energy conservation and Waste Reduction Always Pays Programs (WRAP) have in large part occurred because of good EI planning and activities (Denton, 1999). The use of teams in conjunction with extensive EI efforts may be conducive in encouraging employees to actively partake in proactive environmental prevention efforts (Govindarajulu & Daily, 2004).…”

Desenvolvimento de produtos sustentáveis: o papel da gestão de pessoas

“…Ressaltase que esse treinamento, entendido como o ato de aumentar a perícia e o conhecimento de um dado funcionário (Pfeffer, 1998), deve ter suas necessidades levantadas junto a todos os funcionários da empresa, principalmente aqueles que possuem potencial de participar do processo de DPS; avaliação de desempenho, que tem por objetivo a melhoria global do desempenho e da produtividade das pessoas ao longo do tempo, deve ser um instrumento útil para mensurar a performance do funcionário no DPS, fornecendo feedback que fomente a melhoria de sua participação (Denton, 1999); recompensas, que objetivam reforçar ou inibir comportamentos individuais ocorridos durante o DPS (Govindarajulu e Daily, 2004).…”

“…Dessa forma, a constituição de equipes multifuncionais se mostra como uma tendência (Denton, 1999) apropriada para a crescente inserção da dimensão ambiental no processo de desenvolvimento de produtos sustentáveis, geralmente considerados complexos e interdisciplinares (May e Flannery, 1995). Como observam Beard e Rees (2000), equipes ambientais são utilizadas para gerar idéias, fomentar a aprendizagem organizacional, identificar conflito e focar atenção em sua resolução, perseguindo sempre as melhores opções em termos de prática de gestão do meio ambiente.…”