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1 Why Study Environmental Metrics?
Pages 17-28

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From page 17...
... PART ~ Why and What
From page 19...
... Tracking progress toward an established goal serves to influence behavior by providing continual feedback, and it requires reliable and consistent metrics against which performance can be compared. In response to competitive pressures and the increasing informational demands of a wide range of stakeholders (e.g., customers, lenders, investors, regulators, local communities)
From page 20...
... There was an emergence of corporate pollution prevention plans and, later, of more comprehensive environmental management systems. In the 1990s industry began to develop a more comprehensive approach to assessing environmental costs based on the emerging principles of full-cost accounting (Banks, 1995; Thayer, 1995~.
From page 22...
... As required by regulation · Rates and quantity r 01 emissions · Energy efficiency metrics · Productivity improvement metrics Toxicity reduction metrics . Explicit mainstreaming of environmental goals Design for environment Life-cycle assessment Environmental cost management Recycling targets Alternative products As required by regulation Rates and quantity r 01 emissions Energy efficiency metrics Productivity improvement metrics Toxicity reduction metrics Recycle rates C`Weighted" metrics those that find new approaches for meeting consumer demands while lowering environmental impact.
From page 23...
... Some of the recent interest in scrutinizing environmental performance has been driven by the growing realization that traditional methods of accounting often do not fully capture or identify environmental costs (Epstein, 1996; Ditz et al., 1995; United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1995~. Corporate accounting procedures frequently place environmental expenditures into nebulous categories such as "overhead," thereby making it difficult to break out individual costs.
From page 24...
... The environmental load imposed by resource use, water pollution, air emissions, waste disposal, and other consequences of a highly developed economy have prompted questions regarding how actual impacts might be lessened. As a direct and indirect contributor to the global environmental burden, industry has begun to investigate the extent of its role and potential mitigating actions.
From page 25...
... This is an area where considerable uncertainty still exist (National Research Council, 1997~. While headway has been made in establishing links between some toxic substances and human health (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1998a, b)
From page 26...
... Chapter 11 explores some of the long-term issues facing industry as it prepares to address expected future demands from the public for better environmental information. In this analysis, emphasis is on describing environmental performance metrics in terms of their links to related corporate goals identified by the committee.
From page 27...
... United States Environmental Protection Agency.


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