Internal environmental protection activities in the company
The increasing pressure on social institutions and environmental protection is affecting the business environment, creating a new competitive framework conditions. In this new context, the environmental performance of the company and its relevance to the legal requirements of complying are profound changes in the printing processes, production techniques and business management itself.
The adaptation of the production system to the new challenges of environmental protection has resulted in investment in new technologies and services by companies to reduce or control the environmental impact of industrial activity, according to new requirements law. Thus, the process of ecological modernization of the productive system has led to the emergence of a significant demand for environmental goods and services by industry. However, in general, and, except for large corporations and businesses, these services are outsourced, with the consequent knock-on effect on the activity of environmental services to companies and organizations.
In this sense, the main significant source of direct environmental employment in the nineties in the traditional industrial structure is linked to the extent of environmental management systems in the company and compliance with environmental legislation.
At present it is noted new employment incentives to boost environmental content in the productive sectors:
- Legislative framework favorable: The development of new laws that have been forced to review the environmental performance of companies (Law 16/2002 of July 1, Prevention and Control Integrated Pollution-IPPC).
- Development of new tools for managing environmental impacts: Eco label, the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and preparation of sustainability reports.
The application of these systems (mainly EMS), following the path initiated by the quality management, has led to the emergence of the figure of the environmental manager at the company. However, in many cases, this responsibility is often assigned the responsibility for quality and prevention of occupational hazards. Only larger companies or those that generate the type of activity over environmental risks, have a technician specifically for environmental management.
However, systematic approaches in environmental management and preventive perspective has led to the introduction of the environmental level in the decision-making structure of the company, which is generating significant qualitative changes in the characteristics of employment generated.
The outlook for employment growth in the industrial environment are closely linked to improvements in environmental management of the company and the extent of environmental management systems in the industrial fabric. Thus, the future evolution of the volume of content jobs in the industrial environment will depend crucially on the evolution of a set of elements and factors, which include:
1. Control and enforcement of environmental legislation by the Administration and the tightening of the legislative framework.
2. Pressure from customers: In today’s competitive environment, the satisfaction of customer needs and expectations is the basic premise for the survival of the company. The pressure from customers has a cascading effect of environmental improvement through the production system (the clients require to meet certain environmental standards to their suppliers, which in turn demand that their suppliers, etc., producing a chain reaction in the productive sector). In this sense, the low pressure until the customer has exercised in reference to the environmental performance of its suppliers, has delayed the process of ecological modernization of the productive system and the consequent job creation in the industrial environment.
3. Search for improvements in the competitiveness of the business, especially in the case of companies with strong export orientation working in highly competitive markets and environmental standards.
4. Induction for new instruments of environmental management: Ecolabel, life cycle analysis, Ecodesign, Corporate Social Responsibility, and so on.
However, although the evolution of this set of factors provides favorable to job creation with environmental content in the industrial sector, its growth rate is not expected to be significant. The fundamental reason behind this apparent paradox is the limited financial capacity and resources of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Thus, the face of increased pressures or social legislation in relation to compliance with certain environmental standards, small and medium enterprises choose to outsource environmental consulting, moving the capability of environmental jobs in the environmental sector. For their part, large companies or those already have a special impact, mostly with departments and areas of environment, not being either significant number of jobs created in the short and medium term.