The impact of foreign direct investment on China's industrial carbon emissions based on the threshold model.

In recent years, the number of countries concerned about environmental protection continues to increase. With a continuous expansion of economic scale, many emerging markets are also sustainably enhancing their management for industrial carbon emissions in foreign direct investment (FDI). Therefore, the impact of FDI on the host country's industrial carbon emissions has been a hot topic of researches. This study selects panel data of 30 medium and large cities in China from 2006 to 2019. Combined with dynamic panel GMM estimation and panel threshold model, this study empirically analyzes the impact factors of FDI on the host country's industrial carbon emissions. This study is based on the perspective of dual environmental management systems. This study draws the following conclusions: When taking the dual environmental management system factors as threshold variables into the empirical research process, only the FDI in Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai shows a certain inhibitory effect on Chinese industrial carbon emissions. The FDI in other cities increases the scale of industrial carbon emissions. At the same time, in the formal environmental management system, FDI has no significant impact on China's industrial carbon emissions. It indicates that the formal environmental management system of each city is not effective in policy formulation or implementation. In addition, the corresponding role of environmental management systems, such as innovation compensation and mandatory emission reduction, is not played. With the exception of Beijing and Shanghai, informal environmental management systems in other cities help curb the scale of industrial carbon emissions brought by FDI.

The implementation of green supply chain management (GSCM) and environmental management system (EMS) practices and its impact on market competitiveness during COVID-19.

Despite great academic interest in global green supply chain management (GSCM) practices, its effectiveness for environmental management systems (EMS) and market competitiveness during COVID-19 remains untapped. Existing literature suggests that a fundamental link between GSCM, EMS, and market competitiveness is missing, as supply management is critical to maintain market competitiveness. To fill this gap in the literature, this study examines whether environmental management systems influence the link between GSCM practice and market competitiveness in China. We also propose the articulating role of big data analytics and artificial intelligence (BDA-AI) and environmental visibility toward these associations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the proposed model using regression-based structural equation modeling (SEM) with primary data (n = 330). This result provides empirical evidence of the impact of GSCM on EMS and market competitiveness. Moreover, the results show that the BDA-AI and the environmental visibility enhanced the positive relationship between GSCM-EMS and EMS and market competitiveness in China. Recent research shows that supply chain professionals, policymakers, managers, and researchers are turning to formal EMS, BDA-AI, and environmental visibility to help their organizations achieve the competitiveness that the market indicates they need.

Does environmental management system certification affect green innovation performance?-Based on a moderated mediating effects model.

What is the impact of environmental management system certification on green innovation performance, and is it a futile endeavor or a profitable one? Grounded in the principles of ecological civilization construction and green development, this study embarks on a comprehensive examination. Initially, it investigates the varying impacts of environmental management system certification on both traditional innovation performance and green innovation performance. Subsequently, it dissects the underlying mechanisms and moderating factors influencing the latter, including an exploration of intermediary effects. The empirical findings of this study are as follows: (i) Environmental management system certification emerges as a catalyst for innovation performance, with the primary impact observed in the realm of green innovation performance. (ii) Social responsibility disclosure is identified as a mediating factor in the relationship between environmental management system certification and green innovation performance. (iii) Larger enterprises, those equipped with robust equity incentives, and those operating in less competitive markets are more prone to benefit from the impact of environmental management system certification on social responsibility disclosure. This, in turn, amplifies the promotion of green innovation performance. However, the moderating effect of property rights on the mediating path remains statistically insignificant. (iv) Environmental management system certification exerts a more pronounced influence on green innovation performance in regions characterized by lower economic development. Moreover, it particularly stimulates exploratory green innovation performance, surpassing its impact on exploitative green innovation performance.

Characteristics of development and dissemination of environmental management systems in the area of production of medicines in Ukraine.

The article presents the results of a study based on an expert survey of senior management and leading experts of enterprises for the production of medicines in Ukraine and typical problematic aspects of implementing environmental management systems (EMS). It was found that among the enterprises whose respondents took part in the survey, only 25% implemented EMS and passed the certification procedure following the requirements of ISO 14001. A significant problem identified is the lack of influential information tools and methodological developments for the implementation, operation, and benefits of EMS in pharmaceutical production, especially to ensure processes regarding the readiness of enterprises to respond to emergencies. Insufficient support was noted, particularly in regulatory and financial incentives, and no benefits could encourage more efficient greening of pharmaceutical production. The negative consequence is the lack of interest of small and medium enterprises in investing in new technologies and sustainable business practices to reduce environmental pressures. EMS should be implemented as a part of the overall management system of the enterprise to manage environmental aspects, meet mandatory legal requirements and voluntary commitments in accordance with the objectives and environmental policy of the enterprise, as well as to address risks and opportunities. It is important to note the urgency of developing theoretical and methodological principles of design, implementation, and further development of EMS to increase the environmental efficiency of the enterprise, greening in medicines production, and achieving sustainable development goals.

Study on the Influence Mechanism of Environmental Management System Certification on Enterprise Green Innovation.

Improving the green technology innovation capability of enterprises is an important way for industrial enterprises to improve product quality and production efficiency and reduce industrial pollution and energy consumption. Based on the Porter hypothesis, this paper took the data of listed companies of the heavy polluting industry in Chinese A-shares from 2011-2018 as a study sample, and a difference-in-differences (DID) model was constructed to explore the impact of environmental management system certification (EMSC) on enterprises' green innovation. This paper also studied the differential impact between the EMSC and enterprises' green innovation from the perspective of enterprise heterogeneity. It was found that the EMSC has a significant promotion effect on the enterprises' green innovation; this promotion changes with the size and ownership of the enterprise and the lifecycle of the enterprise. Meanwhile, customer, shareholder, and creditor satisfaction all play a positive moderating role in the process of EMSC affecting green innovation, while the moderating role of supplier satisfaction is not significant. The findings of this paper have important implications for the understanding of the role of EMSC in promoting green innovation in enterprises.

Assessing the environmental performances of waste-to-energy plants: The case-study of the EMAS-registered waste incinerators in Italy.

This study evaluated the environmental performances of 15 Italian waste incineration (WI) plants registered to EMAS. From the EMAS Environmental Statements, the validated data related to 5 environmental aspects (emissions to air, energy consumption/production, waste production and reagent consumption) and 24 key indicators were analyzed to describe and assess the environmental performances of the plants in 2017-2019 in relation to the best available techniques associated emission levels (BAT-AELs) and other sectorial reference values. All air pollutants' average concentrations resulted significantly below the upper BAT-AELs, the majority under the lower BAT-AELs, with an overall slightly decreasing trend (-4.6%). The specific productions of bottom and other ashes were steady over time and just above the lower characteristic values. The specific energy consumption was higher than the average European performance and stable over time, while the specific reagent consumption was harder to evaluate, with results varying for the different reagents. An evaluation of the influence of the WI plants' characteristics on the environmental performances was also performed considering 13 different parameters (e.g., flue gas cleaning technologies, waste treatment capacity, etc.). A correlation analysis highlighted the positive influence of the pre-dedusting stages on overall emissions, specific reagents consumption and specific waste production, and of the plant size on the specific energy production. This study demonstrated that EMAS can provide a tool to evaluate the environmental performances of WI plants and compare different installations using certified data. It also highlighted the excellent performances of the Italian WI plants registered to EMAS compared to the sectorial references.

Linking green supply chain management practices with competitiveness during covid 19: The role of big data analytics.

Although the global green supply chain management (GSCM) practice has attracted considerable scholarly attention, its efficacy for environmental management systems (EMS) and market competitiveness during Covid-19 has not been fully capitalized. Therefore, the existing literature indicates that the important link between GSCM, EMS, and market competitiveness is missing as supply management is crucial to maintaining market competitiveness. To fill this research gap, the current study examines whether EMS affects the relationship between GSCM practices and market competitiveness. We also propose the moderating role of big data analytics and artificial intelligence (BDA-AI) and environmental visibility on these associations from a Covid-19 perspective. We tested a proposed model using the primary data (N = 283) from regression-based structural equation modeling (SEM). The results provide empirical support for the impact of GSCM on ESM and market competitiveness. Furthermore, the results show that BDA-AI and environmental visibility strengthen the positive relationship between GSCM-EMS and EMS and market competitiveness, respectively. Current research provides thoughtful insights for supply chain practitioners, policymakers, managers, and academics that organizations should opt for formal EMS, BDA-AI, and environmental visibility to achieve market competitiveness, even in times of crisis such as Covid-19.

Effects of the green supply chain management practices on firm performance and sustainable development.

The idea of sustainable development and green supply chain management is considered at the underlying stage in the research and academic fields, particularly in the rising economies of Asia. This research investigates the persuasive force of the firm's green supply chain management practices with the mediating part of the competitiveness and investment recovery. Data was collected from the 12 ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 leather industries based in Pakistan. We distributed the 350 questionnaires at 12 leather industries, and the questionnaire was also transferred on Google Forms, and 50 questionnaire mail to different individuals who work in leather industries of other cities of Pakistan; out of 350 questionnaires, 183 were filled, and the remaining questionnaires were incomplete, and out of 50 emails, we get the response of 33 emails, and evaluated the model of this study by using the partial least square structural equation modeling PLS-SEM. We interact with the employees of leather industries and try to understand how they are following the green practices in their firms. This research uses resource dependence theory as the theoretical base. This study elaborates how the organization's behavior is affected by the external resources of the corporation. The actual outcomes uncover that green supply chain management activities positively impacting the firm's performance, where competitiveness and investment recovery play a mediating role among intra-organizational green practices.

Critical Barriers to Environmental Management System Implementation in the Nigerian Construction Industry.

The impact of different hazardous substances of the construction industry being released to the environment is alarming. This constitutes an adverse effect on the quality of life of construction workers and the populace at large. To reduce this menace, Environmental Management System (EMS) was put in place. Meanwhile, the implementation of EMS in the Nigerian construction industry (NCI) is not certain. This study, therefore, investigated the barriers to EMS implementation in the NCI to group them into a smaller form, i.e., fewer numbers. A questionnaire survey was developed and administered to construction professionals in Nigeria using a purposive sampling technique. The retrieved 106 copies of the questionnaires were subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics such as mean score, standard deviation, analysis of variance test, post hoc test and exploratory factor analysis. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted three times to identify the critical barriers to EMS implementation in the NCI. The study findings reveal three main categories of barriers affecting EMS implementation, namely; (1) knowledge barrier; (2) process barrier; and (3) culture and management barrier. The study concluded that the three factors indicate the major cardinal barriers that could describe the impediment of EMS in the NCI. It was recommended that the training of construction professionals is important to enhance improvement culture in the NCI.

ISO 14001 adoption and environmental performance in small to medium sized enterprises.

As the biggest sector of the global economy, an understanding of environmental management in small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is necessary for improved sustainability. This paper explores the role of contextual factors for ISO 14001 adoption and improved environmental performance in SMEs. It finds that socio-political factors (e.g. legislation, regulation and legitimation) guide the initial adoption decision. Nevertheless, beyond this, substantive performance improvements (i.e. improved internal processes and procedures) are received, based on symbolic (i.e. legitimacy-based) reasoning. Particularly, operational improvements subsequently lead to improved financial and environmental outcomes, as well as external social performance evaluations. This not only suggests that environmental performance is a multidimensional concept that extends beyond the firm, but also that ISO 14001 adoption in SMEs is based on the interrelation of symbolic and substantive performance effects over time and space that cannot be separated analytically in research practice. The findings are presented as particularly useful for SMEs in terms of highlighting the performance benefits of ISO 14001 adoption.

Antecedents of environmental management system internalization: Assessing managerial interpretations and cognitive framings of sustainability issues.

Drawing on Bansal & Roth's model of ecological responsiveness, the study investigates how environmental managers' cognitive framings of sustainability issues and interpretations of field-level contextual factors affect decision-making processes with regard to environmental management system (EMS) internalization. Using data from a survey questionnaire of 457 ISO 14001-certified and EMAS-registered European companies, the research analyses the influence of managers' perceptions of contextual factors (i.e. environmental issue salience and governmental regulatory incentives) and managers' cognitive traits (i.e. managers' environmental concern and cognitive framings of environmental practices) on internalization. The results highlight that, while managers' perceived stakeholders' concern for the natural environment directly influences substantive internalization, governmental regulatory reliefs fail to influence the internalization of EMS. Similarly, managers' environmental concern emerges as an antecedent of internalization, while managers' adherence to an alignment logic between economic and environmental objectives does not contribute to internalization. Furthermore, the study contributes to the conceptualization of substantive internalization of environmental practices, by highlighting the existence of two distinct dimensions of EMS internalization, i.e. operational and strategic internalization.

A review of development and reform of emission permit system in China.

An emission permit system (EPS) is a fixed-source environmental management system that is widely practiced worldwide. Since 2016, China has been building a fixed-source environmental management system with the EPS as its core. This paper summarizes the evolutionary process of China's EPS over the past 40 years considering four main stages: embryonic stage, local pilot stage, total emission control-based exploration stage, and reform stage of the core management system. This paper notes that China initially established a system of laws and technical specifications for emission permits, and emission permits are clearly becoming a mainstream trend in fixed-source management. The paper argues that there are still four problems in the current EPS reform (i.e., insufficient support of laws and regulations, poor integration of the EPS with other systems, unscientific design of the EPS, and insufficient implementation capacity after permit allocation). This paper puts forward 7 suggestions for further EPS reform, e.g., accelerating the formulation of the regulations on the EPS, strengthening the coordination with other fixed-source systems, improving the technical support system for the EPS, establishing a database system for emission permits, building a scientific and reasonable allocation method, improving the autonomy of pollutant monitoring in enterprises, and increasing information disclosure and public participation. The results may more accurately evaluate China's EPS in China's environmental protection system, provide scientific support for the promotion and development of the ongoing EPS reform and environmental management systems. The results may promote the development of pollution prevention, and an improvement in the environmental quality in China, and offer scientific guidance and reference for other countries to implement their own EPS.

Drivers and challenges for implementing ISO 14001 environmental management systems in an emerging Gulf Arab country.

Worldwide, ISO 14001 certification for organizations has become the norm, but the Arab world accounts for an insignificant portion of all the certified organizations. There is a dearth of research on environmental management systems (EMS) in Arab and emerging countries and in public organizations. The objectives of this research are to: (1) examine the key drivers and challenges related to implementation of ISO 14001 certified EMS in the United Arab Emirates, an emerging Arab country and (2) compare and contrast these drivers and challenges between private and public organizations. We adopt an explorative, qualitative methodology, using semi-structured interviews with environmental managers in 11 organizations (6 private and 5 public) from different industrial sectors. Drivers of EMS certification were mostly similar between private and public organizations, with some differences. Compliance with regulations and standards, and increasing environmental performance were the main drivers for ISO 14001 certification in both private and public organizations. Commitment to sustainability was more important for public organizations. Cost reduction, competitors, leadership commitment and customers' demands were shared drivers, but more stressed by private organizations. Local community and employees' pressures were reported by private organizations only. The challenges to ISO 14001 implementation were similar for private and public organizations. They were: a lack of qualified human resources, practical challenges associated with implementation, a lack of regulations, a lack of support from management, and high costs. Our findings have implications for managers, academics, consultants, and policy makers in the UAE and other emerging markets.

Environmental assessment in health care organizations.

The aim of this research is to design a multi-criteria model for environmental assessment of health care organizations. This is a model which guarantees the objectivity of the results obtained, is easy to apply, and incorporates a series of criteria, and their corresponding descriptors, relevant to the internal environmental auditing processes of the hospital. Furthermore, judgments were given by three experts from the areas of health, the environment, and multi-criteria decision techniques. From the values assigned, geometric means were calculated, giving weightings for the criteria of the model. This innovative model is intended for application within a continuous improvement process. A practical case from a Spanish hospital is included at the end. Information contained in the sustainability report provided the data needed to apply the model. The example contains all the criteria previously defined in the model. The results obtained show that the best-satisfied criteria are those related to energy consumption, generation of hazardous waste, legal matters, environmental sensitivity of staff, patients and others, and the environmental management of suppliers. On the other hand, those areas returning poor results are control of atmospheric emissions, increase in consumption of renewable energies, and the logistics of waste produced. It is recommended that steps be taken to correct these deficiencies, thus leading to an acceptable increase in the sustainability of the hospital.

Aquaculture expansion in Brazilian freshwaters against the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

The Convention on Biological Diversity proposed the Aichi Biodiversity Targets to improve conservation policies and to balance economic development, social welfare, and the maintenance of biodiversity/ecosystem services. Brazil is a signatory of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and is the most diverse country in terms of freshwater fish, but its national policies have supported the development of unsustainable commercial and ornamental aquaculture, which has led to serious disturbances to inland ecosystems and natural resources. We analyzed the development of Brazilian aquaculture to show how current aquaculture expansion conflicts with all 20 Aichi Targets. This case suggests that Brazil and many other megadiverse developing countries will not meet international conservation targets, stressing the need for new strategies, such as the environmental management system, to improve biodiversity conservation.

Assessing the environmental performance of construction materials testing using EMS: An Australian study.

This paper reports the audit findings of the waste management practices at 30 construction materials testing (CMT) laboratories (constituting 4.6% of total accredited CMT laboratories at the time of the audit) that operate in four Australian jurisdictions and assesses the organisation's Environmental Management System (EMS) for indicators of progress towards sustainable development (SD). In Australia, waste indicators are 'priority indicators' of environmental performance yet the quality and availability of waste data is poor. National construction and demolition waste (CDW) data estimates are not fully disaggregated and the contribution of CMT waste (classified as CDW) to the national total CDW landfill burden is difficult to quantify. The environmental and human impacts of anthropogenic release of hazardous substances contained in CMT waste into the ecosphere can be measured by construing waste indicators from the EMS. An analytical framework for evaluating the EMS is developed to elucidate CMT waste indicators and assess these indicators against the principle of proportionality. Assessing against this principle allows for: objective evaluations of whether the environmental measures prescribed in the EMS are 'proportionate' to the 'desired' (subjective) level of protection chosen by decision-makers; and benchmarking CMT waste indicators against aspirational CDW targets set by each Australian jurisdiction included in the audit. Construed together, the EMS derived waste indicators and benchmark data provide a composite indicator of environmental performance and progress towards SD. The key audit findings indicate: CMT laboratories have a 'poor' environmental performance (and overall progress towards SD) when EMS waste data are converted into indicator scores and assessed against the principle of proportionality; CMT waste recycling targets are lower when benchmarked against jurisdictional CDW waste recovery targets; and no significant difference in the average quantity of waste diversion away from landfill was observed for laboratories with ISO14001 EMS certification compared to non-ISO14001 certified laboratories.

Health, safety, and environmental management system operation in contracting companies: A case study.

Systematic and cooperative interactions among parent industry and contractors are necessary for a successful health, safety, and environmental management system (HSE-MS). This study was conducted to evaluate the HSE-MS performance in contracting companies in one of the petrochemical industries in Iran during 2013. Managers of parent and contracting companies participated in this study. The data collection forms included 7 elements of an integrated HSE-MS (leadership and commitment; policy and strategic objectives; organization, resources, and documentation; evaluation and risk management; planning; implementation and monitoring; auditing and reviewing). The results showed that mean percentage of the total scores in seven elements of HSE-MS was 85.7% and 87.0% based on self-report and report of parent company, respectively. In conclusion, this study showed that HSE-MS was desirably functioning; however, improvement to ensure health and safety of workers is still required.

The comprehensiveness of environmental management systems: The influence of institutional pressures and the impact on environmental performance.

This study contributes to the EMS literature by providing a more detailed insight into the comprehensiveness of environmental management systems (EMSs) by focusing on the intensity of use of environmental management practices. In addition, the study examines the influence of institutional pressures (coercive, mimetic and normative) on the comprehensiveness of environmental management systems (EMSs), and the impact of EMS comprehensiveness on environmental performance. A mail survey questionnaire was used to collect data from a random sample of Australian senior managers across various industries. Both coercive and normative pressures were found to influence the comprehensiveness of EMSs. Specifically, the pressure exerted by the government, through the creation of appropriate regulatory pressures and public incentives, and by employees, customers, professional groups, the media, and community, influenced the comprehensiveness of the EMS. In addition, organisations with more comprehensive EMSs were found to experience higher levels of environmental performance. With more than 300,000 organisations worldwide adopting EMSs (ISO, 2013), the findings provide an important insight into the relevance of EMSs. In particular, it is suggested that organisations should endeavour to implement a more comprehensive EMS and be conscious of the role that coercive and normative pressures play in influencing the comprehensiveness of their EMSs.

ISO 14001 adoption and industrial waste generation: the case of Swedish manufacturing firms.

Adoption of environmental management systems (EMSs) based on ISO 14001 has constituted one of the most important developments in sustainable industry management in recent years. Previous research on the impact of EMSs has relied heavily on corporate representatives' subjective perception of benefits. Moreover, studies tend to focus on the systems' impact on firms' overall environmental performance, not distinguishing between the differences in different environmental aspects. This study aims to contribute knowledge about the influence of certified EMSs on industrial waste generation based on objective industrial waste data derived from mandatory annual environmental reports. The study focuses on changes in waste generation over a period of 12 years and includes both ISO 14001-certified firms (66 firms) and non-certified firms (50 firms). Consideration is given to the improvement efforts in the firms before EMS adoption. Analysis has been carried out using statistical methods for three different industrial waste parameters: hazardous waste, waste to landfill and the total amounts of waste. The results indicate that the certified EMSs have no statistically significant effect on any of the three waste parameters.