My expertise lies in developing effective Environmental Management Systems (EMS) for businesses. I have come to believe that a suitable EMS is the best way for companies to really make positive progress towards reducing their environmental impact. There are many examples of companies who have implemented one-off sustainability projects which have led to great improvements. An effective EMS ensures that a holistic and systematic approach is used so that these types of successes are maintained in the future.

I went to the launch of the Eco Smart Business programme at the Auckland town hall a few weeks ago. This programme is another council funded sustainability initiative following on from Envirosmart which was run in conjunction with the Landcare Research Enviro-Mark programme several years ago. Eco Smart uses the Eco Warranty standard to guide companies towards ISO 14001. Although the programme doesn’t actually lead to ISO 14001 certification I am a big advocate of initiatives that raise awareness and help companies get started down this track.

For some time now I have been quite concerned about the limited uptake of ISO 14001 in New Zealand. The JAS-ANZ register lists 251 companies certified to ISO 14001 in New Zealand. Internationally there has been a massive uptake of the standard – in Germany around 5,850 companies are certified and in China over 55,000. At a recent sustainability workshop in Auckland I spoke to Phil O’Reilly CEO of BusinessNZ – he shared my concerns. The overseas market is changing and corporate customers are asking suppliers to have an EMS in place.

BusinessNZ has previously worked with the Ministry of Economic Development in introducing a simple web tool to help companies get started with environmental management. The envirostep tool is a great launch pad to get small companies thinking about their environmental issues. They can implement more comprehensive systems like ecoPortal once they have got the basics.

I believe that it is vital that New Zealand companies are educated on the benefits of having an EMS, and in particular a credible, certified system based on the ISO 14001 standard. In implementing such a system it is possible to keep up with the changing consumer and legislative trends – one day its carbon, the next its waste management or greening the supply chain. An EMS provides the overall framework to implement an effective environmental sustainability strategy.

After finishing my thesis in January, my girlfriend and I spent some time overseas (recovering from all the hard work). Our first destination was Germany – well known as one of the leading countries from an environmental awareness perspective. I have been to Germany several times in the past and I have always been impressed by the infrastructure they have in place to manage their environmental impact.

For example they have a fantastic public transport system – A few years ago I traveled around with some friends and experienced the extensive train network. The network allows you to travel to virtually any small village in the country. While it can be relatively expensive if you buy individual tickets, I bought a 3 month Eurail pass which allowed me to jump into any train, any time, for 1300NZ$. The flexibility and freedom of the train system negated the need for a  car. I was already impressed by their systems when I was a child – every town in Germany seems to have a collection centre where people bring their recyclables. It is the responsibility of the consumer to sort out which ‘bin’ the various items go in – e.g. white glass, green glass, aluminium etc.. In Auckland we have one recycling bin – and it all goes in there. Does our system actually work?

Children playing in the rubbish left by the fishermen

In my latest trip, I was amazed by the system they now have in supermarkets to manage the collection and re-use of bottles. Consumers bring empty bottles back to the supermarket and insert them into a machine and in return they receive back ‘Pfand’ – money for being responsible. You can read more about this here. Are there any reasons why New Zealand can’t invest in this type of infrastructure? Perhaps there is an opportunity to get a group of stakeholders together and apply for some waste minimisation funding (WMF)

Another part of my trip was to Thailand and Bali. Both these destinations are incredibly beautiful and we had a wonderful time. However, it was sad to see the very limited infrastructure and low level of environmental awareness of the people in these places. I was walking along the beach in the northern part of Bali and met a fishing family who invited us to dinner – they would share their upcoming catch. We observed the fishermen pull in their nets and watched with sadness that their catch turned out to be a few very small fish and a net full of assorted plastic waste. I asked the fisherman what they did with the rubbish and he responded that they left it on the beach for the waves to carry it back out to sea.. They simply don’t have the infrastructure to deal with the packaging of imported products.

Together we still have a whole lot of work to do – think global act local.

My friend and business partner Richard Cross set up this blog for me in 2009 so that I had a forum for expressing my ideas that I was developing during my thesis. As you can tell I last posted a blog on this site a long long time ago.

Much has changed since that time – For one, I have finally submitted my PhD thesis ‘Towards environmentally sustainable manufacturing: A strategic framework for SMEs’ for examination. Completing the thesis has taken a major weight off my shoulders and I can now refocus my attention on helping companies progress with their environmental programmes.

My PhD used a triangulated research methodology combining ‘action research’, case studies, literature reviews and surveys. The end result was the ‘ecoWheel’ framework which helps SMEs to develop and implement effective  Environmental Management Systems (EMS). I intend to go into more detail in future posts..

During my PhD, 4 of my colleagues and I established two sustainability companies – KBS and ecoPortal. KBS was founded as a consultancy to help New Zealand companies develop their sustainability and environmental management programmes. ecoPortal is an online sustainability management system.. I’m sure I will write more about these two companies in due course.