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ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Continuous environmental improvement entails creating historical benchmark
measurements documenting previous environmental performance, measuring current
environmental performance, and developing goals and targets for future environmental
performance.
Climate Care, owned by J.P. Morgan, provides a simple Internet-based carbon calculator
for business use. The calculator requires data for office CO2 consumption, company
travel mileage, freight mileage and weight, and additional carbon emissions.
Link the analysis of environmental performance measures to organizational strategy.
Share the performance indicator results with all employees so they know whether
improvement is occurring, and use the results as benchmarks for new goals and targets.
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Have students collect the appropriate data and assess the carbon footprint for the college,
Business School, or employer by using the Climate Care carbon calculator at
https://www.jpmorganclimatecare.com/business/business-co2-calculator/. Are
students surprised by the results? What are the organization’s strengths and weaknesses? How
can the organization transform one weakness into a strength? Discuss in small groups.
SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), an international multi-stakeholder coalition,
provides general guidelines for sustainability reporting that allow for some environmental
performance comparisons between organizations.
The GRI reporting framework was developed with input from businesses, investors,
accountants, and activists, and takes into account economic, environmental, and social
performance measures.
The environmental performance section discusses EMS variables and provides
performance measures for environmental inputs (e.g., material, energy, water) and
outputs (e.g., emissions, effluents, waste). In 2006, after extensive public review and
feedback, GRI released the third generation of reporting guidelines.
CARBON OFFSETS
Some organizations reduce the carbon waste on Earth by purchasing carbon offsets
equivalent to their carbon footprint and participating in green philanthropy.
Carbon offsets entail paying another organization to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on
the company’s behalf.
The most common carbon offsets are investing in tree plantings and forestry projects,
clean and renewable energy projects, and energy efficiency projects in other parts of the
world.
Organizations can also purchase carbon credits from climate exchanges, which reduce the
amount of carbon credits available to high-polluting organizations.
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Have students review the extended list of environmental organizations that are members of the
nonprofit “One Percent for the Planet”
(http://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/en/search/member_search_results.php?
byContinent=NA). Randomly review several of the nonprofit organization profiles and choose
one to present to classmates.
CHAPTER 11 CHAPTER AND ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS SUMMARY
Chapter Question 1: Describe the nature of climate change and its impacts.
The number of people consuming the Earth’s scarce resources continues to rise.
There is strong scientific consensus that global warming is occurring.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which monitors weather
What causes climate change? According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, “the primary
cause of global warming is from human activity, most significantly burning of fossil fuels to
drive cars, generate electricity, and operate our homes and businesses.”
Not everyone agrees with these climate change projections, causes, or consequences.
Scientific knowledge about climate change is always incomplete and uncertain, and the
weather change can be cyclical
FOR DISCUSSION: Have students prepare, and then give, a three minute elevator talk that
describes how business activities may impact climate change to someone from an alien planet.
Chapter Question 2: How have federal, state, and municipal governments responded to
environmental problems?
environmental interests and business interests through “cooperative regulation” rather than
adversarial regulation.
A follow-up climate change conference was held in Kyoto, Japan in 1997. The Kyoto
Protocol established a goal to reduce worldwide greenhouse gas emissions five percent
below the 1990 level by 2012.
Ratified by more than 180 nations, the Kyoto Protocol went into effect in 2005 without the
consent of the United States.
oIt closed in 2010 when participants withdrew their membership because Congress
failed to pass anticipated Cap and Trade legislation.
In 2005, a similar Climate Exchange Cap and Trade program was created in Europe and
continues to operate because of mandatory carbon emissions caps imposed by the Kyoto
Protocol on European nation signatories.
More than 500 higher education presidents have signed the American College and University
Presidents Climate Commitment. Their goal is to reduce carbon emissions on campuses to
zero.
The Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) was created in 1999 as a way to track the
financial performance of leading sustainability-driven companies.
FOR DISCUSSION: Put students on teams to examine several different types of environmental
websites that appear at the end of the chapter, discuss their impressions, and present what they
found to the entire class.
Chapter Question 3: What are the competitive advantages of being eco-friendly?
Review EXHIBIT 11.4 “Competitive Advantages of Being Eco-Friendly,” which lists some
of the competitive advantages in terms of:
oCost savings
FOR DISCUSSION: Have students choose what they consider to be the top 3 reasons for being
eco-friendly from Exhibit 11.4 “Competitive Advantages of Being Eco-Friendly” or other
reasons. In small groups, share your list and reach consensus on the top 3 reasons. Then share the
small group’s list with class and as a class reach consensus on the top 3 reasons.
Chapter Question 4: What specific actions can businesses take to improve their
environmental performance?
Specific actions appear on many websites which appear at the end of this chapter.
In 2009, Walmart reduced plastic bag waste by 66.5 million pounds. These goals have been
expanded to: (1) 100 percent renewable energy, (2) zero waste, and (3) increased sales of
sustainable products.
A central theme of eco-friendliness is “waste equals food.” One organization’s waste can be
another organization’s input.
Review EXHIBIT 11.6 “15 Simple Steps for Greening Your Lifestyle,” which lists 15 rather
simple steps offered by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
FOR DISCUSSION: Have students review the “15 Simple Steps for Greening Your Lifestyle” in
Exhibit 11.6. List how many of the 15 steps the students do. Why do they do them? What other
eco-friendly things do students do? Which of the 15 steps not being done would be easy to
adopt? Why? What would it take for the students to adopt them? Discuss the results in small
groups.
Chapter Question 5: Describe how to manage the environmental change process within an
organization.
Becoming an eco-friendly organization requires leadership from the CEO or President and a
values-based organizational culture that not only honors compliance with environmental
regulations, but also emphasizes the benefits associated with exceeding them.
FOR DISCUSSION: Have students examine the environmental management process for the
college campus, Business School, or employer. Have students assess each of the 10 aspects in
Exhibit 11.7 “Managing Environmental Change” for the college, Business School, or employer.
How many of the managing environmental change aspects are in place? Which aspects are
current strengths and weaknesses? How can the organization transform a weakness into a
strength? Discuss the assessment in small groups.
Additional Question 1: How can organizations communicate eco-friendliness to employees
and suppliers?
Some organizations create an “environmental mission statement” that clearly articulates the
organization’s relationship with the natural environment.
FOR DISCUSSION: Have students independently create an “Environmental Mission Statement”
for the college, Business School, or employer. Share in small groups and reach consensus on a
model environmental mission statement. Share with entire class and reach consensus on a model
environmental mission statement. If such a statement already exists, have students compare their
created statement to the existing statement. Then share with the Dean of the Business School,
College president, or manager for their feedback.
Going green entails making sure that the inputs being received are themselves
environmentally friendly. Hold suppliers accountable for providing green products and
operating in an eco-friendly manner.
FOR DISCUSSION: Have students interview a purchasing manager for the college, Business
School, or employer. Evaluate two or three products recently purchased using the “Sustainable
Products Checklist” in Exhibit 11.9. Are their alternative products that score higher? Would the
purchasing manager like to adopt the “Sustainable Products Checklist”? Why?
Walmart goes deeper into the supply chain by making sure that their supplier operations meet
high environmental standards.
FOR DISCUSSION: Have students interview a purchasing manager for the college, Business
School, or employer using Walmart’s “Supplier Sustainable Index Questions” in “Best Practices
in Use.” How did they score? What are the strengths and weaknesses? How can the organization
transform a weakness into a strength?
Chapter Question 6: What are the key features of an Environmental Management System?
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a nongovernmental organization,
An EMS is the basic component of ISO 14001 certification, a competitive advantage in a
marketplace where more organizations are using a green screen to choose suppliers. This is a
The EMS plan is a document that describes how the organization conducts environmental
Review EXHIBIT 11.10 “Environmental Management System (EMS) Plan,” which
highlights procedures to document for each of the five sections of an EMS plan. An
FOR DISCUSSION: Have students assess the college or employer’s Environmental
Management System (EMS) plan according to the five categories in Exhibit 11.10
“Environmental Management System (EMS) Plan.” Is it clear exactly what students need to do if
they want to (1) develop a new environmental policy, (2) establish a new short-term
environmental target, (3) communicate an environmental accomplishment to the campus
community, (4) create a new database for an environmental performance item, and (5) obtain
administrative approval for these activities? If the college or employer does not have an EMS
plan, then have students draft one by responding to the issues in Exhibit 11.10 and share the draft
with the appropriate manager.
Chapter Question 7: How can an organization assess environmental risk and apply the
Natural Step framework?
A key aspect of an EMS is managing environmental risk. Each organization has a unique set
Review EXHIBIT 11.11 which provides a list of questions to consider when performing an
FOR DISCUSSION: Have students conduct an environment risk assessment for the college,
Business School, or employer using the information in Exhibit 11.11 “Identifying Environmental
Risks.” What are the organization’s strengths and weaknesses? How can the organization
transform a weakness into a strength? Discuss in small groups.
An increasing number of communities and businesses are using The Natural Step (TNS)
framework as a conceptual tool for environmental analysis and action plan development.
The TNS framework attributes the root causes of environmental problems to four issues:
oremoving too many substances from the Earth’s crust
oproducing too many synthetic compounds that are difficult for nature to break down
omanipulating the ecosystem, and
oinefficiently and unfairly meeting human needs worldwide.
Have work units, total quality management teams, or gainsharing teams explore the
following three TNS objectives to reduce the use of resources that damage environmental
well-being.
oObjective #1—Reduce Wasteful Dependence on Fossil Fuels and Underground
Metals and Minerals
oObjective #2—Reduce Wasteful Dependence on Chemicals and Synthetic Compounds
oObjective #3—Reduce Encroachment on Nature
FOR DISCUSSION: Have students summarize the college or employer’s environmental
performance using the three Natural Step objectives: 1) reduce wasteful dependence on fossil
fuels and underground metals and minerals, 2) reduce wasteful dependence on chemicals and
synthetic compounds, and 3) reduce encroachment on nature. What are the organization’s
strengths and weaknesses? How can the organization transform one weakness into a strength?
Discuss in small groups.
Additional Question 2: Describe green packaging and building initiatives.
The European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, passed in 1994,
All businesses operating within the European Union (EU) are now responsible for directly
Environmentalists anticipate legislating “cradle to cradle” laws that would regulate the
In 2006, Wal-Mart developed a sustainable packaging scorecard in association with its goal
to be packaging neutral by 2025. Wal-Mart defines packaging neutral as “all packaging
FOR DISCUSSION: Have students assess their employer’s product packaging materials, or
some package they recently purchased. Is the packing efficient and use the least amount of
material necessary? Discuss in small groups.
Green buildings improve employee health, reduce energy costs, and limit detrimental
environmental impacts.
The United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) rating system provides eco-friendly measurement standards for certifying
building construction and remodeling.
Some organizations use LEED’s building guidelines but do not apply for certification
because of documentation cost issues or a lack of interest in being officially certified.
In 2009, version 3.0 became the new LEED guidelines. The four levels of LEED certification
are: Basic (40 points), Silver (50 points), Gold (60 points), and Platinum (80 points).
Review Exhibit 11.12 “The LEED Version 3.0 Rating System,” which provides examples of
eco-friendly practices, and the number of points available, for each of the seven LEED 2009
new construction and major renovations categories.
Additional Question 3: Describe environmental performance indicators and how to offset
an organization’s carbon footprint.
Continuous environmental improvement entails creating historical benchmark measurements
Link the analysis of environmental performance measures to organizational strategy. Share
FOR DISCUSSION: Have students collect the appropriate data and assess the carbon footprint
for the college, Business School, or employer by using the Climate Care carbon calculator at
https://www.jpmorganclimatecare.com/business/business-co2-calculator/. Are
students surprised by the results? What are the organization’s strengths and weaknesses? How
can the organization transform one weakness into a strength? Discuss in small groups.
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), an international multi-stakeholder coalition, provides
general guidelines for sustainability reporting that allow for some environmental
performance comparisons between organizations.
The environmental performance section discusses EMS variables and provides performance
measures for environmental inputs (e.g., material, energy, water) and outputs (e.g., emissions,
effluents, waste). In 2006, after extensive public review and feedback, GRI released the third
generation of reporting guidelines.
Some organizations reduce the carbon waste on Earth by purchasing carbon offsets
equivalent to their carbon footprint and participating in green philanthropy.
Carbon offsets entail paying another organization to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the
company’s behalf.
The most common carbon offsets are investing in tree plantings and forestry projects, clean
and renewable energy projects, and energy efficiency projects in other parts of the world.
FOR DISCUSSION: Have students review the extended list of environmental organizations that
are members of the nonprofit “One Percent for the Planet”
(http://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/en/search/member_search_results.php?
byContinent=NA). Randomly review several of the nonprofit organization profiles and choose
one to present to classmates
