Derek Davison’s research while affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University and other places

Environmental Management Systems (EMS) are a relatively new and rather innovative system of management practices that provide firms with additional sources of information and leverage over their environmental and business processes and performance. They are basically an extension of the total quality approach to the area of environmental management. This article reports the results of a survey of manufacturing plants that examined the reasons why firms adopt environmental management systems (EMS) and their impacts on businesses and communities. EMS is being adopted by a fairly large group of manufacturing plants. EMS is associated with factories that are larger, more committed to total quality management, and more innovative in general: These enterprises are motivated by the bottom line quest to increase productivity and as well as by government regulation. EMS also appears to be a useful tool for managing community relationships and dealing with key stakeholder groups on potentially controversial environmental issues. EMS factories actively share information with community groups and involve key stakeholders in their environmental activities. Furthermore, EMS plants appear to pose less environmental risk for communities, and report that their adoption and use of EMS is an important factor in achieving this result. In the end, EMS appears to be an effective tool for managing environmental costs and risks inside and outside the factory in ways that adds to --rather than detracts from --the bottom-line.

ational publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and U.S. News and World Report. He also has been a featured commentator in PBS documentaries on global competitiveness and the future of work. ?? He has served as an advisor to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Congress, state and local governments, the Canadian government, the European Union, the Japanese government, and multinational corporations. ?? Working with the Council of Great Lakes Governors --an organization of the governors of the U.S. Industrial Midwest, Florida helped design the successful economic development and environmental revitalization strategy for that region. ?? Florida earned his Bachelor's degree from Rutgers College, studied at MIT, ad received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in New York City. INTRODUCTION Since the dawn of the industrial age, the goals of economic growth and enhanced environmental quality have been a

Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) are relatively new and rather innovative management practices that provide firms with additional sources of information and leverage over their environmental and business processes and performance. This article reports the results of a survey of manufacturing plants that have adopted EMSs. It finds that EMSs are associated with factories that are larger, more committed to total quality management, and more innovative in general. EMSs are also a useful tool for managing community relationships and dealing with key stakeholder groups on potentially controversial environmental issues. Furthermore, EMS plants appear to pose less environmental risk for communities and report that their adoption and use of an EMS is an important factor in achieving this result. In the end, EMSs are an effective tool for managing environmental costs and risks inside and outside the factory in ways that add to, rather than detract from, the bottom-line.