Environmental Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Environmental Management - Essay Example We all know facts: and many of us even try to struggle for our goals, to "make this world a better place", as my beloved idol Michael Jackson used to sing. We receive daily newsletters from various organisations that are - or pretend to be - actively involved in fixing the environmental issues generated by their activities, and often, these organisations even create media campaigns destined to show that they are keenly interested in combating pollution. They claim that they doing their best. They often support these claims by issuing statements, figures, tables, calculations and press releases. They have hired experts especially trained to show an immaculate image, and often they prefer to invest massive sums in huge advertising campaigns, instead of investing in research destined to develop proper solutions for the preservation of our heritage: the natural resources and the balance of the environment. A huge step ahead was made by authorities when they started introducing environmental management standards and regulations - created as objective rules that keep pollution under control. Moreover, we have to notice that authorities tend to be stricter than ever before regarding the eco standards imposed to companies. There are a wide series of standards that must be fulfilled, so that auditors would grant their approval for your activity. ISO 14,001 is the certificate one aims for - and you must be certain to know your ways around in order to achieve it! And ISO 14004 is the one to focus on environment management systems, first of all. ISO 14,001 is downloadable and purchasable on the website standardsdirect.org. There one may find plenty of information regarding the standards that refer to environmental management systems, auditing, performance evaluation, labelling, life-cycle assessment and environmental aspects in product standards. Therefore, it is everyone's interest to become competitive on the international market by assuming these regulations and standards. As I have previously mentioned, most organizations have adopted strategies that show their constant and permanent interest in the environment, strategies that serve a double purpose: first of all, create an immaculate and environment-friendly image to the company, and second, encourage the customer to trust the mentioned company. Unfortunately, the world we live in pays a lot more respect to image, and sometimes fails to focus on the essence. Advertising was created as a tool for fooling the ordinary man; and we all were fooled at least once or twice. And some of us never manage to realise that we are misinformed. A fact we should all keep in mind is that the transparency of the information shared by various organizations and companies is less than satisfactory - as it is always an option to avoid the additional expenses generated by the development of environment friendly techniques. And another unfortunate fact is that, in many countries that were heavily hit by the recent recession, auditors tend to be less then exigent, and authorities are more indulgent, as everyone has a common purpose: to sell the goodies and cash their share. The industry I would like to refer to in this paper is the leather and fur industry of Eastern Asia. I have chosen this subject because it impressed me,