Corporate Sustainability Perfomance
Evaluation in the Portuguese Glass Industry
©2000
Diplomarbeit
100 Seiten
Zusammenfassung
Inhaltsangabe:Abstract:
This work was written in collaboration of TU-Graz and INETI/CENDES-Lisbon. It reviews the current trends in environmental performance evaluation and the change towards sustainability performance evaluation on the corporate level. A new model, the corporate sustainability performance pentagon was developed and the underlying principles were explained. Existing standards and guidelines like ISO 14031 or the GRI Sustainability reporting guidelines were taken into consideration. The concept was subsequently applied to the glass sector and the case study project Novovidro.
Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents:
1.About this work1
A.Background1
B.Purpose and objectives2
C.Methodology2
D.Structure3
E.Limitations4
2.Introduction5
3.Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation10
A.Background10
B.The basics of sustainability performance evaluation14
Indicator classification14
Indicator types17
Developing indicators19
Basic indicator principles21
The environmental performance evaluation diamond22
C.The Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation Pentagon25
D.Standardization and verification29
4.Benchmarking & Sustainability Rating30
A.Benchmarking30
B.Rating34
C.Dow Jones Global Sustainability Index35
D.Pilot Environmental Sustainability Index36
5.The Glass Sector38
A.History of glass38
B.Glass production activities39
C.Characteristics of glass39
D.Classification of glass types40
E.The glass industry40
The domestic glass sector43
The Portuguese glass sector and developments in the Marinha Grande region44
6.The Novovidro project47
A.Background47
B.The Neovidro factory48
C.Input-output balance (eco-balance)52
D.Environmental aspects54
E.Life-Cycle Assessment of a Neovidro glass object56
F.Environmental programme of Neovidro58
7.Application of CSPE in the glass sector59
8.Results and Conclusions72
Bibliography74
This work was written in collaboration of TU-Graz and INETI/CENDES-Lisbon. It reviews the current trends in environmental performance evaluation and the change towards sustainability performance evaluation on the corporate level. A new model, the corporate sustainability performance pentagon was developed and the underlying principles were explained. Existing standards and guidelines like ISO 14031 or the GRI Sustainability reporting guidelines were taken into consideration. The concept was subsequently applied to the glass sector and the case study project Novovidro.
Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents:
1.About this work1
A.Background1
B.Purpose and objectives2
C.Methodology2
D.Structure3
E.Limitations4
2.Introduction5
3.Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation10
A.Background10
B.The basics of sustainability performance evaluation14
Indicator classification14
Indicator types17
Developing indicators19
Basic indicator principles21
The environmental performance evaluation diamond22
C.The Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation Pentagon25
D.Standardization and verification29
4.Benchmarking & Sustainability Rating30
A.Benchmarking30
B.Rating34
C.Dow Jones Global Sustainability Index35
D.Pilot Environmental Sustainability Index36
5.The Glass Sector38
A.History of glass38
B.Glass production activities39
C.Characteristics of glass39
D.Classification of glass types40
E.The glass industry40
The domestic glass sector43
The Portuguese glass sector and developments in the Marinha Grande region44
6.The Novovidro project47
A.Background47
B.The Neovidro factory48
C.Input-output balance (eco-balance)52
D.Environmental aspects54
E.Life-Cycle Assessment of a Neovidro glass object56
F.Environmental programme of Neovidro58
7.Application of CSPE in the glass sector59
8.Results and Conclusions72
Bibliography74
Leseprobe
Inhaltsverzeichnis
ID 5810
Markus Hammer
Corporate Sustainability
Perfomance
Evaluation in the Portuguese Glass Industry
Diplomarbeit
an der Technischen Universität Graz, 7
6 Monate Bearbeitungsdauer
September 2000 Abgabe
ID 5810
Hammer, Markus: Corporate Sustainability Perfomance - Evaluation in the Portuguese Glass
Industry
Hamburg: Diplomica GmbH, 2002
Zugl.: Graz, Technische Universität, Diplomarbeit, 2000
Dieses Werk ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Die dadurch begründeten Rechte, insbesondere die
der Übersetzung, des Nachdrucks, des Vortrags, der Entnahme von Abbildungen und Tabellen,
der Funksendung, der Mikroverfilmung oder der Vervielfältigung auf anderen Wegen und der
Speicherung in Datenverarbeitungsanlagen, bleiben, auch bei nur auszugsweiser Verwertung,
vorbehalten. Eine Vervielfältigung dieses Werkes oder von Teilen dieses Werkes ist auch im
Einzelfall nur in den Grenzen der gesetzlichen Bestimmungen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes der
Bundesrepublik Deutschland in der jeweils geltenden Fassung zulässig. Sie ist grundsätzlich
vergütungspflichtig. Zuwiderhandlungen unterliegen den Strafbestimmungen des
Urheberrechtes.
Die Wiedergabe von Gebrauchsnamen, Handelsnamen, Warenbezeichnungen usw. in diesem
Werk berechtigt auch ohne besondere Kennzeichnung nicht zu der Annahme, dass solche
Namen im Sinne der Warenzeichen- und Markenschutz-Gesetzgebung als frei zu betrachten
wären und daher von jedermann benutzt werden dürften.
Die Informationen in diesem Werk wurden mit Sorgfalt erarbeitet. Dennoch können Fehler nicht
vollständig ausgeschlossen werden, und die Diplomarbeiten Agentur, die Autoren oder
Übersetzer übernehmen keine juristische Verantwortung oder irgendeine Haftung für evtl.
verbliebene fehlerhafte Angaben und deren Folgen.
Diplomica GmbH
http://www.diplom.de, Hamburg 2002
Printed in Germany
ii
Ao.Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. techn. Hans Schnitzer
Graz University of Technology [Technische Universität Graz]
Institute for Chemical Engineering Fundamentals and Process Design
[Institut für Grundlagen der Verfahrenstechnik und Anlagentechnik]
Inffeldgasse 25/II
8010 Graz
Austria
Tel.: +43 (0)316 873-7469
Fax: +43 (0)316 873-7461
Internet: http://www.tu-graz.ac.at
E-Mail: schnitzer@glvt.tu-graz.ac.at
Engª Cristina Rocha
National Institute for Engineering and Industrial Technology
Centre for Sustainable Business Development
[Instituto Nacional de Engenharia e Tecnologia Industrial
Centro para o Desenvolvimento Empresarial Sustentável]
Estrada do Paço do Lumiar, 22
1649-038 Lisboa
Portugal
Tel.: +351-21-7165141
Fax: +351-21-7154084
Internet: http://www.ineti.pt
E-Mail: cristina.rocha@mail.ineti.pt
Indústria e Tecnologia do Vidro, S.A.
Rua da Alemanha Lote 6
Zona Industrial
2430 Marinha Grande
Portugal
Tel.: +351 244 545710
Fax: +351 244 545711
iii
A
A
C
C
K
K
N
N
O
O
W
W
L
L
E
E
D
D
G
G
E
E
M
M
E
E
N
N
T
T
S
S
:
:
First of all, I would like to thank professor Hans Schnitzer for giving me the opportunity
to participate in an exciting research project and for his support during this time.
Very special thanks to my second supervisor, Cristina Rocha, for her valuable input, good
ideas and support for making this thesis possible.
Furthermore, I am very grateful to Drª Constança Peneda, the director of INETI/CENDES,
for all the resources made available and for all her help in administrative issues.
Throughout my work I had strong backing from Ana Paula Duarte, Samuel Niza, Paulo
Martins. I really enjoyed working in the CENDES department with a small group of
dynamic people. For the very good atmosphere, collaboration and friendship I want to
thank all of you.
I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to attend the international workshop ,,Business,
Eco-Efficiency and Sustainable Development" in Lisbon, the "Forum for Energy and
Environment" in Leiria and the international exposition "Re(f)use" on Eco-Design in
Lisbon. Moreover, I had the chance to go to the sea with a marine ship for taking water
samples with an INETI-team twice. It was also a very good experience to give some
German language lessons to my colleagues at INETI. We all had great benefit and
learned a lot.
I would also like to thank Barbara Hammerl for paving the way for the exchange to
Portugal, the Neovidro factory and Antonia Pinto in particular.
Special thanks to Raquel Costa and my friends for making this time in Lisbon
unforgettable.
Finally, I want to express my sincere gratitude to my mother and father for their
unlimited support throughout my entire time of study.
iv
A
A
B
B
S
S
T
T
R
R
A
A
C
C
T
T
:
:
Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation in the Portuguese Glass
Industry
Keywords: Sustainability performance evaluation, environmental performance evaluation,
indicators, environmental management, sustainability rating, eco-rating, sustainability
benchmarking, eco-benchmarking, glass, glass industry.
This work was written in collaboration of TU-Graz and INETI/CENDES-Lisbon. It reviews
the current trends in environmental performance evaluation and the change towards
sustainability performance evaluation on the corporate level. A new model, the corporate
sustainability performance pentagon was developed and the underlying principles were
explained. Existing standards and guidelines like ISO 14031 or the GRI Sustainability
reporting guidelines were taken into consideration. The concept was subsequently applied
to the glass sector and the case study project Novovidro.
Institute: 3510
Supervisors: H. Schnitzer, C. Rocha (INETI/CENDES, Portugal)
Betriebliche Umweltleistungsbewertung in der portugiesischen Glasindustrie
Schlüsselwörter: Umweltleistungsbewertung, Umweltkennzahlen, Umweltindikatoren,
Umweltmanagement, Öko-Benchmarking, Öko-Rating, Glas, Glasindustrie
Diese Arbeit wurde in Zusammenarbeit der TU-Graz mit INETI/CENDES-Lissabon
geschrieben und behandelt den derzeitigen Stand der Umweltleistungsbewertung und die
Tendenz zur Bewertung der betrieblichen Nachhaltigkeit. Im Zuge der Forschung wurde
ein neues Modell, das betriebliche Nachhaltigkeitspentagon entwickelt, welches
gemeinsam mit den zugrundeliegenden Prinzipien erläutert wurde. Bereits vorhandende
Normen und Leitfäden wie z.B. die ISO 14031 und der GRI-Leitfaden zu
Nachhaltigkeitsberichten wurden in die Arbeit miteinbezogen. Das Konzept wurde in
Folge auf den Glassektor und die Novovidro-Fallstudie umgelegt.
Institut: 3510
Betreuer: H. Schnitzer, C. Rocha (INETI/CENDES, Portugal)
v
T
T
A
A
B
B
L
L
E
E
O
O
F
F
C
C
O
O
N
N
T
T
E
E
N
N
T
T
S
S
1. About this work ... 1
A. Background ... 1
B. Purpose and objectives ... 2
C. Methodology... 2
D. Structure ... 3
E. Limitations... 4
2. Introduction ... 5
3. Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation ... 10
A. Background ... 10
B. The basics of sustainability performance evaluation ... 14
Indicator classification ... 14
Indicator types ... 17
Developing indicators ... 19
Basic indicator principles... 21
The environmental performance evaluation diamond ... 22
C. The Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation Pentagon... 25
D. Standardization and verification ... 29
4. Benchmarking & Sustainability Rating... 30
A. Benchmarking... 30
B. Rating... 34
C. Dow Jones Global Sustainability Index ... 35
D. Pilot Environmental Sustainability Index... 36
5. The Glass Sector... 38
A. History of glass ... 38
B. Glass production activities ... 39
C. Characteristics of glass ... 39
D. Classification of glass types ... 40
E. The glass industry ... 40
The domestic glass sector ... 43
The Portuguese glass sector and developments in the Marinha Grande region ... 44
6. The Novovidro project ... 47
A. Background ... 47
B. The Neovidro factory ... 48
C. Input-output balance (eco-balance)... 52
D. Environmental aspects... 54
E. Life-Cycle Assessment of a Neovidro glass object ... 56
F. Environmental programme of Neovidro... 58
7. Application of CSPE in the glass sector... 59
8. Results and Conclusions... 72
Bibliography... 74
vi
L
L
I
I
S
S
T
T
O
O
F
F
F
F
I
I
G
G
U
U
R
R
E
E
S
S
Figure 1: Thesis structure ... 3
Figure 2: The triple bottom line ... 5
Figure 3: Concepts for moving towards sustainability ... 6
Figure 4: WBCSD core indicators ... 15
Figure 5: ISO 14031 corporate environmental indicators ... 16
Figure 6: The 5 indicator types... 18
Figure 7: The Plan-Do-Check-Act loop ... 19
Figure 8: The environmental performance evaluation diamond ... 23
Figure 9: Corporate sustainability performance evaluation pentagon ... 25
Figure 10: Merger of benchmarking concepts ... 31
Figure 11: Sector based glass production in the EU (1996) ... 42
Figure 12: Map of Portuguese districts and their capitals ... 44
Figure 13: MGlass product seal and lettering... 45
Figure 14: Development of hand-made and semi-automatic domestic glass sector in Portugal... 46
Figure 15: The glass production process and inputs/outputs at Neovidro ... 49
Figure 16: Environmental issues and their relevance ... 54
Figure 17: The "Hurricane" (Model 30001)... 56
Figure 18: Life cycle of glass products ... 57
Figure 19: Indicator matrix for the glass sector ... 60
L
L
I
I
S
S
T
T
O
O
F
F
T
T
A
A
B
B
L
L
E
E
S
S
Table 1: Changing measures of resource productivity... 11
Table 2: The 3 generations of environmental performance evaluation ... 13
Table 3: Corporate sustainability evaluation system of SAM ... 35
Table 4: Components of the pilot environmental sustainability index ... 36
Table 5: Typical glass compositions... 40
Table 6: Annual glass production in the EU-member states in tonnes ... 41
Table 7: Employment in the European glass industry per country ... 43
Table 8: General data of selected AIC associates in 1998... 46
Table 9: Neovidro glass composition ... 50
Table 10: Qualitative eco-balance of Neovidro... 53
Table 11: Indicators from three environmental reviews in the Portuguese glass sector ... 62
Table 12: Glass sector indicators ... 68
Table 13: Neovidro indicators... 71
vii
G
G
L
L
O
O
S
S
S
S
A
A
R
R
Y
Y
ABBREVIATIONS
BAT
Best Available Techniques
CP Cleaner
Production
CSPE
Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation
EMAS
Environmental Management and Audit Scheme
EMS
Environmental Management System
EPE
Environmental Performance Evaluation
EPI
Environmental Performance Indicator
EU European
Union
GHG Greenhouse
Gas
GRI
Global Reporting Initiative
IPPC
Integrated Pollution Prevention Control
ISO
International Standardization Organisation
LCA Life-Cycle
Assessment
LCM Life-Cycle
Management
MPI
Management Performance Indicator
NGO Non-Governmental
Organisation
OPI
Operational Performance Indicator
SD Sustainable
Development
WBCSD
World Business Council for Sustainable Development
CHEMICAL FORMULAE USED
Al
2
O
3
Aluminium
Oxide
Na
2
B
4
O
7
Borax
B
2
O
3
Boron
Trioxide
Na
2
CO
3
Sodium
Carbonate
BaCO
3
Barium
Carbonate
Na
2
O Sodium
Monoxide
CaCO
3
Calcium
Carbonate
Na
2
SeO
3
Sodium
Selenite
CaO Calcium
Oxide
Na
2
SO
4
Sodium
Sulphate
CH
4
Methane
NaNO
3
Sodium
Nitrate
CO
2
Carbon
Dioxide
PbO Lead
Oxide
HFCs Hydrofluorocarbons
PFCs Perfluorocarbons
K
2
CO
3
Potassium
Carbonate
Sb
2
O
3
Antimony
Trioxide
K
2
O Potassium
Oxide
SF
6
Sulphur
Hexafluoride
N
2
O Nitrous
Oxide
SiO
2
Silicon Dioxide (Sand)
UNITS
Euro ()
Single currency of EU (participating member states)
J Joule
kg Kilogram
t
Metric tonne (1000kg)
m Metre
Nm
3
m
3
at 273K, 101.3kPa, dry
h Hour
a
Annually (per year)
ºC Degree
Celsius
dB Decibel
# Number/Value
Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation in the Portuguese Glass Industry
1
1
1
.
.
A
A
B
B
O
O
U
U
T
T
T
T
H
H
I
I
S
S
W
W
O
O
R
R
K
K
This work should be the first step into the direction of corporate sustainability
performance evaluation and sector benchmarking in the Portuguese glass industry. Thus,
it seeks to develop a standard sustainability performance evaluation model to be built on
in future, as well as, providing a case study.
A. BACKGROUND
The opportunity to participate in the Novovidro research project in Portugal for writing
this thesis was due to the excellent network and contacts of both TU-Graz and
INETI/CENDES-Lisbon. The following work was written throughout a period of six months
in the facilities of INETI/CENDES in Lisbon.
The Novovidro project was launched in 1996 with the support of PEDIP II (Strategic
Programme for the Development and Modernisation of the Portuguese Industry) and
involved the construction of a new glass factory called Neovidro.
INETI/CENDES was responsible for all environmental related issues throughout the
project and the institute's main objectives were:
-
Implementation of an environmental management system (EMS) according to the
international standard ISO 14001
1
.
-
Design of environmentally friendly products through the application of Life-Cycle
Assessment (LCA) and Eco-Design tools.
-
Introducing best available techniques (BAT) and Cleaner Production to the
production process.
-
Environmental performance evaluation (EPE).
The basis for continuous improvement required by existing EMS standards is the
continual measurement and evaluation of environmental performance with the help of a
defined set of indicators. This was the starting position for this work.
Nevertheless, corporate EPE is not sufficient to comply with the requirements to achieve
sustainable development (SD). Therefore this work expands the EPE-concepts to a
framework for corporate sustainability performance evaluation.
1
The EMS followed the requirements of the standard, however, it had an explicit preventive character in line
with the general approach of INETI/CENDES in the environmental domain.
Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation in the Portuguese Glass Industry
2
B. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this work was to investigate the state of the art of environmental
performance evaluation on the way to sustainability on the corporate level and linking
the results to a case study, the project Novovidro. The derived objectives were the
following:
-
To research the current developments relating to sustainability performance
evaluation, indicators and reporting with focus on the environmental aspects.
-
To research the benchmarking principles and eco-benchmarking trends.
-
To define a set of sustainability performance indicators for the glass industry.
-
To discuss their implementation in Neovidro.
C. METHODOLOGY
In the initial phase of this study an extensive literature review in various databases,
including libraries and the internet was undertaken to find out the current state and
relevant documents within the topics of environmental management systems,
environmental performance indicators, sustainability indicators, benchmarking and eco-
benchmarking, sustainability/eco-rating, as well as, best available techniques in the glass
manufacturing process.
The international workshop ,,Business, Eco-Efficiency and Sustainable Development" held
in Lisbon, was attended. The workshop showed the latest trends in all the areas
mentioned above.
Environmental statements according to EMAS of various glass factories were ordered and
analysed. Moreover, several glass manufacturing associations, norm institutes and some
NGO's and sector companies in Europe and all around the world were contacted.
Since this thesis was written in the context of the Novovidro project, it was necessary to
perform an in-depth analysis of the history, objectives and previous work done.
Therefore, existing reports from INETI and other members of the project consortium
were scanned through and the glass factory was visited to get a better understanding of
the actual process and the associated mass- and energy flows, environmental problems
and their context.
Throughout the investigation of suitable indicators for the glass industry, the concepts
and programmes of global organisations like the World Bank, the World Business Council
Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation in the Portuguese Glass Industry
3
for Sustainable Development, the Global Reporting Initiative and United Nations
Environmental Programme, and others, were considered as a fundamental basis for
researching this work. This is important since the results should be compatible with these
already existing frameworks, thus not being left stand-alone.
A meeting with representatives of the Portuguese glass industry and the Portuguese
technology centre for ceramics and glass was organized to obtain feedback from sector
specialists and practitioners relating to relevant environmental performance indicators.
Despite of familiarizing the audience with performance evaluation and the linked use of
indicators, the preliminary working results should have been presented for in-detail
discussion and evaluation by the invited representatives as a valuable input for this work.
Several other meetings took place through the working period of this document. One
with the initiator of various projects and consultant of the Portuguese domestic glass
industry. Background information on the sector, available data and ongoing projects were
provided. Also the collaboration with the Lisbon University of Technology (IST) was
fruitful and of benefit for both sides.
D. STRUCTURE
The structure of this work (fig.1) is the following:
FIGURE 1: THESIS STRUCTURE
Benchmarking &
Sustainability Rating
The
Glass sector
Introduction
Corporate Sustainability
Performance Evaluation
The
Novovidro project
Application of CSPE in the glass industry
Results and conclusions
Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation in the Portuguese Glass Industry
4
E. LIMITATIONS
-
Low level of environmental culture in the Portuguese glass sector, which is
confirmed by the fact, that there are no EMAS or ISO registered/certified
companies. The lack of environmental sensibility and pro-active behaviour is also
due to the low public pressure in general. Furthermore, environmentalists
currently don't focus very much on the sector.
-
Although the results of the work should be of interest to the glass industry and its
associations, their feedback and collaboration was limited.
-
A further constraint was the lack of current data as basis for calculating values for
the derived indicators.
-
An organized meeting with the Portuguese glass industry was cancelled. It would
have been a valuable input and step forward.
-
Very limited discussion of the developed indicator list with Neovidro due to the
lack of time/availability of their staff.
Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation in the Portuguese Glass Industry
5
2
2
.
.
I
I
N
N
T
T
R
R
O
O
D
D
U
U
C
C
T
T
I
I
O
O
N
N
The question asked by current research initiatives and the public, whether progress
towards sustainable development can be achieved by using corporate sustainability
performance evaluation and benchmarking shall be discussed and analysed in the
following chapters. Explanations of the underlying theories and an example of practical
application will be given.
Sustainable development was defined by the Brundtland Commission
2
as "Development,
which meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs."
The International Institute for Sustainable Development rewrote this definition for
business and industry to: "For the business enterprise, sustainable development means
adopting business strategies and activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and its
stakeholders today, while protecting, sustaining and enhancing the human and natural
resources that will be needed in the future".
The concept of Sustainability is of global concern, but inevitably, it can only be
accomplished by local actions. Environmentalists adopted the saying "think global act
local". This goes conform to local Agenda 21 plans of many cities around the world. The
United Nations Organisation published the Agenda 21 covering sustainable development
consistent with the needs of future generations after the Rio summit in 1992. 178
governments signed the Rio declaration for environment and development. Principle 4
declares: "In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall
constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in
isolation from it." In chapter 30, the role of business and industry in sustainable
development, by means of cleaner production and environmental management is
defined.
The three dimensions of sustainable development - the triple bottom line (fig.2)
include:
- Economic growth
- Ecological balance
- Social progress
FIGURE 2: THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE
2
Brundtland Commission, Our Common Future, 1987.
Economy
Ecology Society
Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation in the Portuguese Glass Industry
6
We could talk about a ,,win-win situation" when more than one of the above aspects is
accomplished. For example, creating economic value from activities that also minimize
environmental impacts, which is defined as Eco-Efficiency.
The WBCSD published this concept as follows: "Eco-Efficiency is reached by the delivery
of competitively-priced goods and services that satisfy human needs and bring quality of
life, while progressively reducing ecological impacts and resource intensity throughout
the life cycle, to a level at least in line with the Earth's estimated carrying capacity."
At the present many case studies prove that generally "pollution prevention pays
3
". But
eco-efficiency is not enough (see Day 1998). Obviously, the goal has to be improvement
on all three aspects of sustainability. When achieved, it would be a "triple-win" situation.
Current global trends are rapid steps in technological innovation cycles, lifelong learning,
global warming, ecological risk awareness, healthy living, pricing of natural resources,
distribution of wealth, dematerialization and more. But how can society know, that
progress was made on any of those aspects belonging to sustainable development? This
can only be judged by measurement. Therefore, triple bottom line indicators have to be
applied. They are specific measures of corporate performance that reflect a company's
success in adding environmental, social, and economic value.
FIGURE 3: CONCEPTS FOR MOVING TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY
In recent years many different approaches have been developed to reach the final goal of
sustainability. Starting from cleaner production until life-cycle management and industrial
ecology (fig.3).
3
The "pollution prevention pays" (3P) concept was developed by 3M.
Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation in the Portuguese Glass Industry
7
UNEP defined in 1992: "Cleaner Production is the continuous application of an integrated
preventive environmental strategy applied to processes, products, and services to
increase overall efficiency and reduce risks to humans and the environment."
Cleaner production was the next step after the application of "end-of-pipe" technologies,
which fight the effects, but not the cause, of environmental impacts. "End-of-pipe"
measures often result in environmental problems being "shifted" rather than solved.
Cleaner production involved a completely different mindset compared to previous
concepts. The European Union works on integrated pollution prevention and control
reference documents for all industrial sectors in which the best available techniques are
sought and analysed. This means:
1. "Best" most effective in achieving a high general level of protection of the
environment as a whole.
2. "Available" techniques, developed on a scale which allows implementation in the
relevant industrial sector, under economically and technically viable conditions.
3. "Techniques" include both technology used and the way in which the installation
is designed, built, maintained, operated and decommissioned.
Unfortunately, BATs identified in IPPC-documents are still mainly based on end-of-pipe
technologies, and don't include the pollution prevention approaches.
Even one step further than cleaner production goes the "zero" concept. This concept
implies that all industrial inputs have to be used in final products or converted into value-
added inputs for other industries or processes. That means higher overall efficiency by
achieving zero discharges, zero emissions etc.
Recently the focus was intensified on products and the change from physical products to
"function and service". The application of eco-design and life-cycle assessment, the
evaluation of all phases of the products lifecycle, corresponds to that development. But
not only sustainable product design but also sustainable consumption is researched.
Independently, industrial ecology, which is reducing material- and energy flows on a
regional level, evolved and developed. Currently many regional projects, which take
industrial ecology into account, are worked on.
Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation in the Portuguese Glass Industry
8
The objectives of eco-efficiency improvements towards sustainable development have
recently been discussed and targets of a factor 4, 10, 20 have been proposed for
different time spans. The formula behind this is described below (see Weterings and
Opschoor, 1992; Jansen and Vergragt, 1993; in van Hemel, 1998)
Level of pollution
=
Population
x
GNP per capita
x
Pollution per unit of GNP
1 =
2
x
4
1/8
0.4 =
2
x
4
1/20
The underlying assumptions were that the world's population will double within the next
25 years and that the Gross Net Product (GNP) per capita will be four times as high as
the current value. The above calculation comes to the conclusion that a reduction factor
of 8 would only maintain current pollution levels, while a factor of 20 would lead to 40%
of current pollution levels.
To set improvement targets and measure the progress towards sustainable development,
measurement is needed. This can be part of an EMS like ISO 14001 or EMAS, or
independently done by applying other performance evaluation systems, like balanced
scorecards, which are already in use for financial performance evaluation. Important is to
mention that social effects are sometimes difficult to measure and thus subjective. On
the contrary, the financial and environmental aspects are facts and therefore not
subjective.
Another current trend is the comparison of company performance benchmarking. This
can be an important tool to see the actual performance and position of a company. The
different benchmarking types will be discussed in chapter 4 of this work.
New investment concepts emerged under the names "Sustainability-Rating" or "Eco-
Rating". The Dow Jones Global Sustainability Index (DJGSI) was launched last year. It is
the first index worldwide, which has sustainability performance as basis for its
calculation. A specific set of indicators, measuring the organisation's performance in
economic, social and environmental terms is the basis for the comparison and ranking.
Another initiative of the World economic forum tries to establish an Environmental
Sustainability Index (ESI). Its objective, on the contrary to the above index, is
performance evaluation of nations in all sustainability issues. In total there are 64
variables tracked, compared and averaged to a single number, the ESI. The advantage of
having a single number is apparent, but its significance after the ultimate degree of
aggregation is subject to further discussions.
Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation in the Portuguese Glass Industry
9
A critical issue of sustainability benchmarking is the social part, namely, the ethics of
social benchmarking. This topic has to be handled very carefully, since some of the social
issues such as employee conditions or child labour are differently interpreted depending
on the country's culture. E.g. child labour is socially accepted and legal in some
countries.
As with industry in general, also in environmental science, new technologies of
measurement and reporting evolve. The Internet already changed the work of research
and development drastically. However, the future trend lies in real-time reporting and
online measurement of environmental, economic and social issues. The reinforcement of
information technologies within the European Union was decided in the June 2000
meeting of the member states in Lisbon. But already now, there is a vast range of web
sites dealing with life-cycle assessment, corporate environmental reporting,
environmental management systems and benchmarking.
In the following chapters the focus of discussion will be the concept and application of
corporate sustainability performance evaluation and benchmarking. This is of increasingly
importance for the raising the demand of communication with stakeholders
4
relating to
triple-bottom line issues. Common understanding and knowledge is the basis for change
of behaviors regarding environmental practices and social standards, as shareholder
value can't be seen as unique development indicator.
4
Any individual or group, which can affect or is affected by an organisation's activities. E.g., employees,
communities, suppliers, clients/consumers, investors, environmentalists, NGO's, management, legislators,
contractors, lending institutions and insurers, general public, research and other institutions.
"The seven social sins":
Politics without principle. Wealth without work. Commerce
without morality. Pleasure without conscience. Education
without character. Science without humanity. Worship without
sacrifice.
Gandhi
Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation in the Portuguese Glass Industry
10
3
3
.
.
C
C
O
O
R
R
P
P
O
O
R
R
A
A
T
T
E
E
S
S
U
U
S
S
T
T
A
A
I
I
N
N
A
A
B
B
I
I
L
L
I
I
T
T
Y
Y
P
P
E
E
R
R
F
F
O
O
R
R
M
M
A
A
N
N
C
C
E
E
E
E
V
V
A
A
L
L
U
U
A
A
T
T
I
I
O
O
N
N
In this section the background and future of corporate sustainability performance
evaluation is presented and a newly developed indicator model will be explained.
A. BACKGROUND
Nowadays many different expressions concerning performance evaluation and
measurement are used. There are various publications on environmental performance
evaluation, financial controlling, accounting and social standards. All of these aspects are
unified in the concept of sustainability and therefore the term "corporate sustainability
performance evaluation" appears to be the most appropriate.
Today there is a shift in culture from "trust me" (Asia), "tell me" (Europe) to "show me"
(USA) taking place. This is a step away from having confidence in supplied information
towards demanding more transparent and reliable information. All interested parties
want to observe the process of achieving continuous improvement for which
measurement is indispensable. It facilitates the monitoring of progress towards
sustainable development and assists decision-makers and other stakeholders to focus on
sustainable development. Performance indicators play a key role in tracking and
presenting the achieved improvements. These indicators have been used already a long
time in helping business managers make financial decisions. Recently, environmental
performance indicators were developed and their application becomes increasingly
accepted.
Indicators of any type reduce the excessive amount of data to a smaller volume of
information permitting easier decision-making. Relating to environmental indicators, the
German federal environmental agency (1997) states, "Environmental indicators
summarize the extensive environmental data to a limited number of significant key
information"
Also the trend of corporations adapting environmental management systems like EMAS
or ISO 14001 (see appendix 7 for current statistics) is a cause for more debate on
environmental performance evaluation. Although EMS don't explicitly require
performance indicators, they can be a very important part of them, as continuous
improvement has to be achieved and proved, by monitoring and auditing, two of the
most important elements in EMS.
,,Only what gets measured gets managed"
Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation in the Portuguese Glass Industry
11
Environmental performance evaluation (EPE) according to ISO 14031 is defined as a
"process to facilitate management decisions regarding an organisation's environmental
performance by selecting indicators, collecting and analysing data, assessing information
against environmental performance criteria, reporting and communicating, and periodic
review and improvement of this".
Even if the starting point of current research was (and is) environmental performance
evaluation, there is a shift to the more holistic view of sustainability. Thus, measuring
and assessing the performance according to all three pillars of sustainability (economic,
social and environmental) is essential. The existing measurement methods need a vast
extension to encompass those three aspects. The main obstacle is often argued to be an
unavoidable trade-off between economic growth and environmental and social harm. The
current status of knowledge is that sound development with improvements on all
subjects is possible, on which scale will be seen in future.
To step ahead towards sustainability, old measures have to be substituted by new ones,
as this has been proposed (tab.1) by Arnold and Day (1998) in reference to resource
productivity.
OLD MEASURES
NEW MEASURES
Volume intensity
Knowledge intensity
Volume output
Value per volume output
Capital investment
Value per unit of capital invested
Material throughput
Material per customer served
Virgin material and energy
Recovered material and energy
Focus on product
Focus on function
TABLE 1: CHANGING MEASURES OF RESOURCE PRODUCTIVITY
Source: Arnold and Day (1998)
The first substitution in the above framework is corresponding to the necessity of
lifelong-learning and the associated boom in knowledge management research often in
conjunction with the IT-industry, which is developing interactive databases for intellectual
capital. The current trends in the environmental area are online environmental
information systems, which in future will be combined with financial reporting to
sustainability information systems. The rapidly growing world-wide-web permits easier
information exchange. All kinds of stakeholders will be able to request information
whenever they want or need. Despite of having access to set performance indicators
established by the organisations, they are going to have the chance to built other ratios
Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation in the Portuguese Glass Industry
12
of all absolute indicators available. This leads to higher flexibility in publishing and
accessing information and in consequence to higher satisfaction of stakeholder demands.
Moreover virtual exhibitions and factory visits flourish in the Internet, which opens one
more perspective of future information systems, namely real time observation of the
production processes. The future stakeholders might be able to see the factory and its
actual performance on-line. Of course, the access and the security of transmitted data
has to be ensured thoroughly.
Despite of knowledge management, human resources in general are considered to be the
key for future success of any business. Hence, social indicators could play a crucial role.
The other focal points of new measures are value and function of company's products
and services. The shift from focusing on the product itself to its actual function allows
breakthrough innovation. This is already subject of eco-designers and life-cycle
assessment. Whereas function can be determined rather easily, the value of products can
be topic for extensive discussions.
In line with Industrial Ecology, the material and energy flows have to be reduced
considerably. Therefore material per customer served and the recovery of materials and
energy are two essential new measures.
Similar to the measures discussed above, Bennet and James (1999) elaborated three
generations (tab.2) of environmental performance measurement. From the first
generation through the second to the third there is a steady change from a reactive to a
proactive behaviour of companies.
Details
- Seiten
- Erscheinungsform
- Originalausgabe
- Jahr
- 2000
- ISBN (eBook)
- 9783832458102
- ISBN (Paperback)
- 9783838658100
- DOI
- 10.3239/9783832458102
- Dateigröße
- 2.1 MB
- Sprache
- Englisch
- Institution / Hochschule
- Technische Universität Graz – unbekannt
- Erscheinungsdatum
- 2002 (September)
- Note
- 1,0
- Schlagworte
- enviromental management eco-benchmarking umwelt umweltkennzahlen öko-benchmarking
