- Library Home /
- Search Collections /
- Open Collections /
- Browse Collections /
- UBC Theses and Dissertations /
- Evaluation of predominant environmental management...
Open Collections
UBC Theses and Dissertations
UBC Theses and Dissertations
Evaluation of predominant environmental management practices in the Canadian pulp and paper industry Zerbe, Piotr Maciej
Abstract
This study investigated whether formal environmental management systems (EMS) exist in the Canadian pulp and paper industry, and whether the development of EMS by companies positively affects the environmental performance of their mills. The study further examined the array of environmental strategies pursued by pulp and paper companies in Canada as well as the selection of approaches to corporate environmental management from among those in increasing use in the larger environmental management field: environmental auditing, life cycle analysis, activity-based costing, environmental benchmarking and Total Quality Environmental Management. Finally, the study examined which factors influence Canadian pulp and paper companies in undertaking action on environmental issues. Information was collected directly from a sample of 33 companies and 55 mills in four provinces, through questionnaires and follow-up interviews as well as from published reports. The results confirmed the existence of some rather well-developed EMS across the majority of firms in the Canadian pulp and paper industry. However, the level of EMS development appeared to vary significantly. In general, pulp and paper companies were found to succeed at securing appropriate people and information, but weaknesses were identified in terms of system design and follow-up action. Among the exogenous and endogenous factors studied, the most salient influences on a firm's environmental decision-making were environmental regulations and the degree of vertical integration. Other factors found to be important influences were: customer requirements, owners' requirements, directors' liability, and production technology. The Canadian pulp and paper companies seem to favour two types of environmental strategies with respect to government regulators: cooperation and collective proactivity. In general, companies reported that they tend to cooperate with regulators on environmental issues and seek to influence the government, particularly with regard to regulations, through collective action. The study showed that environmental auditing and environmental benchmarking are the most popular approaches to environmental management in this industry in Canada. While environmental performance at most companies has improved over the three-year period studied (1993-1995), no clear correlation was found between environmental performance and EMS scores, due in part to the presence of confounding variables and the sampling methodology. Mill location, effluent treatment technology and the degree of vertical integration were found to be more important predictors of environmental performance than the level of development of EMS.
Item Metadata
Title |
Evaluation of predominant environmental management practices in the Canadian pulp and paper industry
|
Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
|
Date Issued |
1996
|
Description |
This study investigated whether formal environmental management systems (EMS) exist in the
Canadian pulp and paper industry, and whether the development of EMS by companies
positively affects the environmental performance of their mills. The study further examined
the array of environmental strategies pursued by pulp and paper companies in Canada as well
as the selection of approaches to corporate environmental management from among those in
increasing use in the larger environmental management field: environmental auditing, life
cycle analysis, activity-based costing, environmental benchmarking and Total Quality
Environmental Management. Finally, the study examined which factors influence Canadian
pulp and paper companies in undertaking action on environmental issues. Information was
collected directly from a sample of 33 companies and 55 mills in four provinces, through
questionnaires and follow-up interviews as well as from published reports.
The results confirmed the existence of some rather well-developed EMS across the majority
of firms in the Canadian pulp and paper industry. However, the level of EMS development
appeared to vary significantly. In general, pulp and paper companies were found to succeed at
securing appropriate people and information, but weaknesses were identified in terms of
system design and follow-up action. Among the exogenous and endogenous factors studied,
the most salient influences on a firm's environmental decision-making were environmental
regulations and the degree of vertical integration. Other factors found to be important
influences were: customer requirements, owners' requirements, directors' liability, and
production technology.
The Canadian pulp and paper companies seem to favour two types of environmental strategies
with respect to government regulators: cooperation and collective proactivity. In general,
companies reported that they tend to cooperate with regulators on environmental issues and
seek to influence the government, particularly with regard to regulations, through collective
action. The study showed that environmental auditing and environmental benchmarking are
the most popular approaches to environmental management in this industry in Canada. While environmental performance at most companies has improved over the three-year period
studied (1993-1995), no clear correlation was found between environmental performance and
EMS scores, due in part to the presence of confounding variables and the sampling
methodology. Mill location, effluent treatment technology and the degree of vertical
integration were found to be more important predictors of environmental performance than
the level of development of EMS.
|
Extent |
15121678 bytes
|
Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
|
Language |
eng
|
Date Available |
2009-02-18
|
Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
|
Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
|
DOI |
10.14288/1.0087270
|
URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
|
Graduation Date |
1996-11
|
Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
|
Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
|
Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.