Voluntary versus Mandatory EMS Implementation: Management Awareness in EMS-certified Firms

Abstract

This article examines the implications of turning a voluntary management instrument such as Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) into a compulsory one. Environmental Management Systems are voluntary operational management tools that can help firms to both reduce their impact on the natural environment and gain financial benefits (win-win strategy). However, some countries have lately enacted environmental regulations to pressurise firms to adopt EMSs. To this end, the findings of the previous studies have been examined with the help of a case study in Greece in order to identify management awareness in EMS-certified Greek firms in terms of the mandatory character of EMS adoption. The article particularly aims to examine the similarities and differences in the voluntary versus mandatory implementation of EMS, arising both from the present study as also from previous studies. ISO 14001, EMAS, proactive environmental management strategy, sustainable development Lal (2003) identify that British oil and gas firms are Keywords

Evaluating the organizational intention to implement an Environmental Management System: evidence from the Indonesian food and beverage industry

“…The perception of financial incentives was recognized as being more important than technical incentives; however, the result did not show a significant value, which suggests that the scheme is not effective in amplifying the relationship between the internal drivers and the intention to adopt an EMS. This is consistent with Nikolaou, Evangelinos, and Emmanouil (2012), who found that the provision of financial incentives consistently fails to deliver an effective compliance. Engel, Pagiola, and Wunder (2008) argue that the scheme can create a perverse incentive as it will increase firm dependency on financial assistance, rather than relying on their internal motivation.…”

An investigation of the drivers, barriers, and incentives for environmental management systems in the Malaysian food and beverage industry

“…The findings from this study suggest there is an important role to play for government, F&B industry bodies, and educational institutions in promoting the adoption of EMS to the industry and public as a whole. A strategy to promote EMS adoption could take the form of 361 mandatory EMS requirements through legislation (Nikolaou et al, 2012) and to encourage 362 voluntary adoption supported by capacity building exercises via financial as well as technical 363 incentives (Zeng et al, 2005). This initiative could support improved inclusivity of Malaysian 364 F&B products in the global food market (Neumayer and Perkins, 2004).…”

The effects of green supply chain management capability on the internalisation of environmental management systems and organisation performance

“…The academic debate has recently focused on EMS internalisation considering especially the barriers that makes EMSs difficult to be implemented (Loizia et al, 2018;Voukkali et al, 2017). Scholars initially believed that ISO14001 and EMAS were uniformly adopted by organisations (Nikolaou et al, 2012;Zorpas, 2010), but some have demonstrated that by fully integrating the requirements of the standards, organisations can achieve better environmental performance (Testa et al, 2018). Testa et al (2018) used the EMS level of maturity as a proxy of the level of internalisation, thus considering all of the EMS requirements to assess the extent of internalisation.…”