Should environmental management standards be a mechanistic control system or a framework for learning?

Abstract

Analyses the key aims of the recently formulated environmental management standards BS 7750, EMAS and ISO 14001, and then queries the efficacy of the management systems prescribed in their formal documentation. Isolates the various components of the standards’ management system and then considers whether or not the approach taken is appropriate for the attainment of their stipulated aims. Concludes that the environmental standards should be fundamentally revised and replaced with more participatory forms of management and organization that push a firm towards a learning organization mode.