Lecture

Environmental Management in SMEs

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In course

ENV-469: Systems of environmental management

Le cours décrit les enjeux et les modalités pour la mise en place d'une démarche environnementale systémique en entreprise basée sur la norme ISO 14001 et son l'application à un cas d'étude concret choisi par le participant en collaboration avec l'enseign ...

Description

This lecture covers the concept of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), focusing on understanding EMS, Swiss environmental policy, planning environmental approaches, and using associated tools. It emphasizes the importance of following course rhythm, completing group work, and integrating EMS in business management. The lecture also discusses the role of SMEs in improving overall business performance through environmental management, resource management, cost optimization, and sustainability. It highlights the need to ensure profitability, reduce environmental risks, guarantee sustainability, and support sustainable development.

Official source

Related concepts (32)

Sustainable development

Sustainable development is an organizing principle that aims to meet human development goals while also enabling natural systems to provide necessary natural resources and ecosystem services to humans. The desired result is a society where living conditions and resources meet human needs without undermining the planetary integrity and stability of the natural system. Sustainable development tries to find a balance between economic development, environmental protection, and social well-being.

Quality assurance

Quality assurance (QA) is the term used in both manufacturing and service industries to describe the systematic efforts taken to assure that the product(s) delivered to customer(s) meet with the contractual and other agreed upon performance, design, reliability, and maintainability expectations of that customer. The core purpose of Quality Assurance is to prevent mistakes and defects in the development and production of both manufactured products, such as automobiles and shoes, and delivered services, such as automotive repair and athletic shoe design.

Quality (business)

In business, engineering, and manufacturing, quality – or high quality – has a pragmatic interpretation as the non-inferiority or superiority of something (goods or services); it is also defined as being suitable for the intended purpose (fitness for purpose) while satisfying customer expectations. Quality is a perceptual, conditional, and somewhat subjective attribute and may be understood differently by different people. Consumers may focus on the specification quality of a product/service, or how it compares to competitors in the marketplace.

Quality management

Quality management ensures that an organization, product or service consistently functions well. It has four main components: quality planning, quality assurance, quality control and quality improvement. Quality management is focused not only on product and service quality, but also on the means to achieve it. Quality management, therefore, uses quality assurance and control of processes as well as products to achieve more consistent quality. Quality control is also part of quality management.

Environmental protection

Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, groups and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where it is possible, to repair damage and reverse trends. Due to the pressures of overconsumption, population growth and technology, the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently. This has been recognized, and governments have begun placing restraints on activities that cause environmental degradation.

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