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One example of incremental changes that was provided by the author was eliminating chlorofluorocarbons and saving energy by replacing a refrigeration process with a heath exchanger that can exploit waste cooling from another part of the process. There are three critical decision-making stages for incremental changes; identifying a pollution prevention opportunity, finding a solution appropriate to that opportunity, and implementing that solution. The author discusses the three aspects of an organization (culture, ability to process information, and its politics) and how they impact the decision-making stages.
Culture can affect an organizations pollution prevention in a number of different ways. First, organizations can make a cultural assumption that knowledge cannot be built based on hands-on experience. Also, corporations use committees or “SWAT” teams and due to their limited knowledge of the production processes they typically conclude that there are no preventative opportunities. Politics can also prove to be an obstacle to pollution prevention. When the environmental manager develops a solution, it requires the engineers and operators to work together.
Engineers are often younger and lack the advanced interpersonal skills needed to solicit and obtain help from operators. Operators are older and generally do not relay possible improvements to the engineers. The following will discuss the problem, stakeholders, solution and implementation. Statement of the problem The problem with pollution prevention is that it requires people to understand more than the intimate details of the production process; they just also understand the technical possibilities.
Many corporations have environmental managers, which are generally responsible for helping corporations comply with the law. According to the case study, the work of environmental managers Often expose them to many pollution prevention solutions, but they often have trouble getting access to production areas. Production often sees Environmental Managers as “the compliance police”. Stakeholders The stakeholders in this case study include the corporation, the community and the countryside.
Although not mentioned directly in the case study, additional stakeholders include employees, shareholders, suppliers and customers. Solutions Two potential solutions to a corporation’s pollution prevention obstacles would be the following: provide additional training to environmental managers and change the production floors view of the environmental manager. Train environmental managers to better understand the production processes. Once the managers understand the various different processes, they will be able to understand more of the intimate details of the production recess.
The environmental managers can then make recommendations with a greater understanding of the technical possibilities. Another problem with the environmental manager is that the production floor views this individual as “the compliance police”. The corporation will need to change the production floor views of the environmental manager in order for the manager to gain access to the production floor. Implementation The above detailed two solutions to the obstacles to pollution prevention. The first solution will be implemented as follows: 1.
The first solution is to train the environmental manager in the production processes so that he/she will be able to understand more of the intimate details of the production process. Implemented by: production manager and Environmental Manager Completion date: 2 months, with refresher training quarterly for the first year and yearly there after. Possible problems: After training the environmental manager still does not understand enough of the process to effectively recommend improvements.
Also, if the environmental manager hinges jobs, training will have to begin all over again for the new manager. 2. The second solution is to improve the relationship between the environmental manager and production floor. Managers could develop an employee involvement program where employees would be encouraged to discuss potential environmental improvements with the environmental manager. Implemented by: Departmental managers and Environmental Manager Completion Date: Ongoing Possible problems: Continued resistance from production floor and resistance to change from corporation.