of the complexity of doing data coding for qual research

... coding process when the researcher turns and twists the maze of codes from a rather mechanical exercise into a creative, sensemaking endeavor for which there is no magic formula. One can analyze each dimension to death, but the development of a relevant set of distinct, yet related, core categories is an individual and imaginative process with many “attempts,” each time with verification that must validate or disconfirm to which point the categories are well grounded in the data. This theory-generating process becomes rather elastic (Jones and Noble, 2007) and, like most mind-trips, they are hard to share! This therefore calls for the usage of complementary triangulation methods which can help ensuring that we are indeed capturing “the right” concepts and that these concepts generate “the right” model, aggregated dimensions or theory; let alone methods that can help document this process.


Jonsen & Jehn (2009) Using triangulation to validate themes in qualitative studies, Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal Vol. 4 No. 2, 2009 pp. 123-150

Malaysian news: Conserve energy and reduce costs (Consumer/public engagement and education through SAVE rebates incentive)


Conserve energy and reduce costs

Energy-efficient appliances not only pare down electricity bills, they reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power generation too.

AT the height of the oil crisis in the 1970s, renewable energy and energy efficiency (EE) were touted as Malaysia’s fifth fuel. However, the discovery of substantial deposits of oil and natural gas in the 1980s relegated EE issues to the back burner in no time.

The promotion of EE was “renewed” in the 1990s by the Electricity and Gas Supply Department (EGSD) and the Ministry of Energy (now the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water, or KeTTHA). Some regulations on EE were drafted then but were not implemented due to “legal issues”.

Looking back, there was actually an EE unit that was established under EGSD (the predecessor of the present day Energy Commission), but its regulatory scope covered only lamp chokes and fans. Efforts at consumer education on EE was spotty and haphazard, though under the 8th Malaysia Plan (2001-2005), there was again some official proclamation of making EE (and renewable energy) the “fifth fuel”, after oil, natural gas, coal and hydroelectric.

Air-conditioners are another high energy user.

In his 9th Malaysia Plan (2006-2010) speech, then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that adequate and quality energy supply is key to the nation’s development. “The public has to realise the value and scarcity of such resources. An energy conservation culture must be inculcated. Buildings should be designed to optimise energy usage. Such resources need to be prudently and carefully utilised.

“The Government will adopt measures to reduce wastage by enhancing energy efficiency and increasing energy sufficiency. The Government is also committed to reduce dependence on petroleum products through the increased usage of alternative fuels such as biofuel and biodiesel as well as renewable energy.”

Malaysia is now into its 10th Plan (2011-2015), and EE still remains pretty much a concept that has yet to be translated into widespread measures on the ground. If anything, national utility provider Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has gone on a fuel oil buying spree due to the lack of natural gas supply from Petronas for power generation, a phenomenon labelled as “gas curtailment”. According to Petronas, supply has to be curtailed as some of its offshore production facilities have to undergo maintenance and upgrading.

The episode of gas curtailment blew away the myth of Malaysia having a power generation reserve margin of 40%. In reality, reserve margin is about reserve installed capacity, not actual amount of electricity that is “put to waste” as reserve.

Having a hefty installed reserve capacity means nothing if there is no fuel to power them, and this is precisely what happened at the height of the gas curtailment in the first half of this year, where TNB even had to buy about 180 megawatt (MW) of electricity from Singapore to cover the shortfall in actual running reserve margin, marking the first time that Singapore exported electricity to Malaysia. Just last week, TNB said that it expects to spend an additional RM3bil this year to buy fossil fuels (excluding gas) like fuel oil, coal and distillates to run its stations in the face of sustained gas curtailment.

The Energy Commission’s sixyear- old energy efficiency label is still not compulsory for electrical appliances manufacturers and importers.

Energy guzzler

Malaysia is a high energy user. According to the World Bank, each Malaysian used 2,693kg of oil in 2008. In comparison, each Indonesian used only 870kg, Filipino 455kg and Chinese, 1,598kg. In terms of electricity use, each Malaysian used an average of 3,667kWh (kilowatt hours) in 2008.

A glance at the consumption pattern in developed countries shows that Malaysia could easily double its demand for electricity as it continues to climb the ladder of affluence. For example, Hong Kong’s per capita consumption was 5,899kWh, Germany 7,184kWh, Switzerland 8,163kWh, Japan 8,474kWh and Singapore, 8,513kWh. According to KeTTHA, electricity consumption is expected to grow at an average rate of 3% to 4% annually until 2020.

In the face of depleting oil and gas reserves, and rising carbon dioxide emissions, curtailing the amount of fossil fuel burnt for power generation is the clear way to go. While waiting for that to happen, KeTTHA has announced the banning of incandescent light bulbs by 2014, and to mandate that air-conditioners be set no lower than 24°C, starting with Government-owned buildings.

As far as the consumer is concerned, the most visible manifestation of EE education is the sweeteners amounting to RM50mil currently being dispensed by KeTTHA called Sustainability Achieved via Energy Efficiency (SAVE) programme. SAVE is envisaged to create a culture of efficient energy usage among the general public and business entities by inducing them to choose energy-efficient electrical appliance through the offer of rebates for purchases of such goods. The programme aims to save up to 127.3GWh (gigawatt hours) this year – equivalent to the amount of electricity consumed by 425,000 houses (assuming an average monthly consumption of 300kWh.)

It is hoped that SAVE could “save” the need to set aside 26MW in generation capacity. For comparison, the latest coal-fired plant ordered by TNB in Manjung, Perak, scheduled to be online by 2015, is sized at 1,000MW.

KeTTHA hopes that widespread adoption of greener appliances can help consumers save costs and at the same time, reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Targetting household appliances makes perfect sense, especially those that consume the lion’s share of a home’s electricity usage. Typically, these are refrigerators, air-conditioners and clothes driers.

Modern energy-efficient appliances use significantly less energy than older appliances. Current energy-efficient refrigerators, for example, use 40% less energy than conventional models did in 2001. As such, replacement of old appliances is one of the most efficient measures to reduce electricity usage.

According to Bosch Germany: “Modern household appliances consume up to 73% less electricity than comparable appliances of 15 years ago and thus offer enormous potential for reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The highly efficient appliances that were sold in Europe in 2010 by Bosch (including Siemens) will lead to electricity savings of 1.9 billion kWh.’’

Following this, if all households in Europe changed their more than 10 years old appliances into new ones, 20 billion kWh of electricity would be saved annually, hence reducing carbon dioxide emissions by almost 18 million tonnes.

Efficiency labels

KeTTHA’s way of informing consumers on what constitutes an energy-efficient appliance is through its little known EE label, which uses a star rating, with the most efficient appliance having a five-star rating. EE labelling is entirely voluntary at the moment but at least a dozen manufacturers have come on board to support SAVE, which is actually a rebate system to induce consumers to choose five-star rated appliances over those that are less efficient.

Even though SAVE was launched in Putrajaya two months ago, those who are familiar with the pulse of green purchasing do not think that Malaysians are aware of the concept of energy efficiency in the first place.

“I don’t think Malaysians have been properly educated on energy efficiency concepts. This view is, of course, not backed by statistics, but merely an observation. This is because our electricity, being subsidised indirectly through lower priced gas to TNB, is relatively cheap,’’ said David Lee Boon Siew, managing editor of Green Purchasing Asia, a publication specialising in green procurement.

Anthony Tan, executive director of the Centre for Environment, Technology & Development Malaysia (Cetdem) feels the same way, remarking that what attracts Malaysians are low-priced products. “Understanding about saving electricity is perhaps confined only to the use of low-wattage compact fluorescent lamps or LED bulbs instead of high wattage incandescent bulbs or fluorescent tubes.”

It also does not help the cause of EE or conservation when households using less than RM20 (or up to 92kWh) of electricity a month get away with paying nothing since October 2008.

Lee is of the opinion that Malaysians are generally unaware of the Energy Commission’s energy efficiency labelling. “The industry has been using other more well-known labels (from Europe, the United States, Japan or Singapore). Unless it is made compulsory, they will not want to paste so many labels on a product. The Energy Commission will have to do more to promote the label if it wants buy-in.”

According to Tan, the average Malaysian does not recognise the EE label, let alone understand what it means, even though it is already six years old. “The voluntary part actually serves as a disincentive to retailers to display the label on products. While the intentions of SAVE are good, the Malaysian consumer has to first understand what EE is all about, and why it is important to achieve EE as a nation. People have to understand the concept of climate change and the relationship between wasteful energy use and high carbon dioxide emissions. Good intent and good results don’t necessarily come hand in hand.”

Tan is cautious in his prediction whether SAVE will achieve its intended objectives. “Some people might end up buying larger capacity equipment because they realise that they can get away with paying the same amount every month yet enjoy the use of a larger capacity air-conditioner, television, or refrigerator. To overcome this, education and awareness are key issues that need to be addressed.”

Carrots and sticks

At any case, those who have bought five-star rated appliances are happy with the results they are seeing. Lee had bought a five-star rated Panasonic inverter 395-litre fridge last November to replace his creaky 15-year-old fridge. “I noticed an immediate drop in my electricity bill by about RM40. While I didn’t do an in-depth check on whether it was due to the fridge alone, I would say it definitely helped. My normal electricity bill is about RM200.”

While giving of rebates is practised by some countries, other developed countries like Singapore has chosen a non-rebate model to push for EE. It made energy-labelling compulsory for air-conditioners and refrigerators in 2008, and added clothes dryer to the list in 2009. Early this month, it enforced a “minimum energy performance standards” (MEPS) on all registrable appliances (air-conditioners, refrigerators and clothes dryers) sold there, with regular audits and checks on the stock sold in the market to ensure compliance.

KeTTHA denies that it is putting the cart before the horse by dishing out rebates in the face of non-compulsory EE labelling, and the non-existence of MEPS for most products on sale now. “Actually, there are lots of things we have to do. We are currently preparing the EE masterplan for the Government’s approval, but there are many things that need to move first. Getting the law sorted out takes at least 16 months, and we cannot be waiting for everything to fall into place before doing things,” said Badriyah Abdul Malek, KeTTHA’s under-secretary for the sustainable energy division.

Pointing to the feed-in tariff (FiT) programme which is expected to be implemented by Dec 1 after several postponements (due to various regulatory hurdles), Badriyah said that the raising of awareness is important in the meantime. “We want people to know about EE, and to get their buy-in, even as the regulations are being worked upon. We cannot wait until the entire EE masterplan is ready before we start doing things. We do not want it to be like the FiT where nothing can move until all the laws are in place.”

She maintains that pushing for EE through appliance purchases is a quick and effective way of achieving the Government’s goals of curbing carbon intensity and at the same time, provide real savings to the people. Alluding that this is indeed the plucking of low-hanging fruits, Badriyah said that pushing the entire slew of EE measures will be a long journey. “Yes, it is carrots first, but rest assured that the whip will follow. You don’t want to start by punishing people.”

Green fridge

Assistant Editor Meng Yew Choong has consistently clocked less than 220kWh per month since purchasing a four-tick rated (given by Singapore’s National Environment Agency and equivalent to a five-star rating) 460-litre Panasonic refrigerator nearly two years ago.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2011/9/20/lifefocus/9075953&sec=lifefocus

Malaysian news: Those with energy bills of between RM3 and RM285 can claim RM200 rebate (Public engagement and education)


Those with energy bills of between RM3 and RM285 can claim RM200 rebate

PUTRAJAYA: From today, more people can qualify for the RM200 government rebate when they buy energy-efficient refrigerators.

The Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry has decided to allow those with energy bills of between RM3 and RM285 per month to claim the RM200 rebate for refrigerators it rates as efficient.

Previously, only households in peninsular Malaysia with energy bills of between RM43.60 and RM117 per month could claim the rebate when buying new refrigerators.

Consumers can also look forward to more choices for refrigerators under the rebate programme as the ministry is including more brands. Currently, it only covers 12 brands.

The ministry's Sustainability Achieved via Energy Efficiency (SAVE) programme head Zaini Abdul Wahab said it was important to extend the eligibility for the rebates as Malaysia was now becoming a “dumping ground” for non-energy saving appliances.

“In the future, only products with a certain efficiency level will be able to enter our market. Many other countries are already doing this,” he said, adding that the Government wanted to regulate the market in terms of energy performance.

He said allowing more people to enjoy the rebates would also increase awareness among Malaysians on the importance of saving energy.

Zaini said the original power usage range under the programme between 200 and 400kWh per month had been introduced to encourage middle-class households to buy energy-efficient appliances.

He said since the programme was launched on July 7, more than 17,000 customers had downloaded and printed the SAVE rebate coupons from its website at www.saveenergy.gov.my.

“The response has been positive. Of those who printed coupons, 77% bought a five-star rated electrical appliance.

“The ministry will now open the offer to more households by expanding the qualifying range to 0-800kwh power usage per month, which means an energy bill of between RM3 to RM285,” said Zaini.

Under the programme, consumers can download the rebates of RM200 for refrigerators and RM100 for air-conditioners from the website.

However, although the qualification for the RM100 rebate for air-conditioners is automatic, not every household in the peninsula can be eligible for the refrigerator rebate, unlike households in Sabah and Sarawak.

He said one reason that all households were automatically eligible for air-conditioner rebates was because the market in Malaysia was growing very quickly.

“We feel that the rebates for refrigerators and air-conditioners are sufficient for now because these two are our biggest markets. We cannot afford to offer rebates for every appliance,” he said.

The rebate is one-off and the downloaded voucher is valid for only a certain period. Once it expires, consumers cannot download the voucher again.

Consumers need only enter their Tenaga Nasional account number at the website to see if they qualify before they can download and print the voucher.

Currently, 4,000 retail outlets are registered for the programmes.

SAVE has set aside RM41mil for the rebate programme for consumers including RM14.4mil for energy-efficient chillers for commercial users like shopping malls and hotels.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/9/20/nation/9534073&sec=nation

Employee Engagement: This Time It's Serious

A very interesting new report on employee engagement via environmental and sustainability education in organisations.

Employee Engagement: This Time It's Serious


Malaysia to cut down emissions by 40% (The Sun Daily)


Cutting down emissions by 40%

Posted on 8 September 2011 - 08:36pm
Last updated on 9 September 2011 - 07:46am
Najib shakes hand with Chin after officiating IGEM 2011. BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 8, 2011): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak today announced plans for a Low Carbon Cities Framework and Assessment System to propel Malaysia towards a low carbon economy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40% by 2020.

Without specifying exactly when the system will be launched, Najib said it was his aspiration to develop both Putrajaya and Cyberjaya as shining examples of eco-friendly townships and replicating it in other towns and cities across Malaysia.

“The Low Carbon Cities Framework is intended to help achieve that goal, assisting local councils, town planners and developers to formulate action plans to cut carbon emissions – for example, through measuring the baseline carbon emissions of cities in order to develop tailor-made carbon strategies and solutions,” said Najib.

The prime minister said this after launching the Second International Greentech and Eco Products Exhibition and Conference Malaysia (IGEM 2011) at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre .

To achieve this vision, the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry will work closely with the Housing and Local Government Ministry to ensure that the framework and the Green Neighbourhood Guidelines will be effective tools to be applied at local council level nationwide.

Najib also urged the private sector to embrace this opportunity and get involved in the project.

“Ultimately, it is the citizens of the world who will play the pivotal role in our pursuit of a sustainable future. We need to think twice before we use plastic bags, waste water or throw away our rubbish – and we need to create space for greener, more sustainable choices such as recycling waste, car-pooling or taking public transport, walking, using energy wisely and buying eco-friendly products,” he said.

He also called upon the nation’s financial institutions, business and agencies to work together more closely in support the development of green economy.

He was concerned that although 97 out of 125 applications to develop green economy have been awarded with Green Certificates under the Green Technology Financing Scheme, only 21 have received loan offers from participating financial institutions.

The approved projects is worth more than RM2 billion but Najib said there remains a gap between demand and supply and the results have been “less positive”.

At the event, Najib also launched the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (Seda Malaysia) official portal (www.seda.gov.my) during the event.

Seda Malaysia is the statutory body established under the Seda Act 2011 to manage and administer the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) and implement the government’s Renewable Energy Policy and Action and is expected to start by Dec 1 this year.

IGEM 2011 saw an increase in participants compared to last year with almost 600 exhibitors from 24 countries taking part. The exhibition ends Saturday.


Proton sends 1st batch of electric cars for evaluation

Proton sends 1st batch of electric cars for evaluation

By ZUHRIN AZAM AHMAD

PUTRAJAYA: Proton has presented the first batch of the much-awaited Electric Vehicle (EV) to the government for evaluation before mass-producing them for the public.

The batch comprises three Saga EVs and five Exora REEV or Range Extender Electric Vehicle.

The presentation is also the first phase of the Fleet Test Vehicle Programme, a joint effort between Proton, Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA) and Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI).

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak received the vehicles from Proton chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh at the Perdana Putra building here on Wednesday.

It was also witnessed by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who initiated the national car.

The Exora REEVs would be used by the Prime Minister's Office, KeTTHA, MITI, Ministry of Transport (MOT) and Ministry of Finance (MOF).

Three ministries - KeTTHA, MITI and MOT had also been given the Saga EVs for evaluation.

Proton has targeted 2013 to offer the vehicles to the public.

 

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/9/14/nation/20110914174850&sec=nation

All govt offices to keep air-cond temperature at 24ºC from now (The Star, Malaysia)

This is not really a new news. It's been like more than a month since this is out in the public .. and the company that I am investigating has a directive to the whole Group to comply to this policy in their email on 15 August 2011, less than 5 days after the government issued the direction.


All govt offices to keep air-cond temperature at 24ºC from now

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?sec=nation&file=/2011/8/11/nation/20110811150156

(The video can be seen here: http://bcove.me/rc6xwgq7)

PUTRAJAYA: All government offices have been ordered to set their air-conditioner temperature no lower than 24 degrees Celsius to give nature a helping hand and to cut electricity bills.

The new regulation is expected to be implemented immediately although the circular on the matter will only be issued by the office of the Chief Secretary to the Government later this month.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin said the order would be extended to the private sector by 2013.

He said a new Bill on energy conservation was being drafted to compel the private sector to follow suit.

“It will be tabled in Parliament soon and we are looking at 2013 as the implementation date for the private sector.

“For now, the secretaries-general of all the ministries who are also the officers-in-charge of the buildings under their ministries must ensure that the air-conditioner temperature is set at 24 degrees Celsius and above unless under special circumstances,” he told a press conference after attending a Green Technology and Climate Change Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

It was also attended by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas.

Chin said certain places like the ICUs and operation theatres in hospitals were, however, exempted from the ruling.

He said the meeting agreed that 24 degrees Celsius was a comfortable temperature for Malaysian climate.

“It is neither too cold nor too hot. In some countries, like China, they are required to set their (air-conditioner) temperatures at 26 degrees Celsius which is too hot (for Malaysia).

“So gone are the days when the ladies have to bring their shawls to the office,” he said, referring to the common scene in many government offices where women staff covered their upper bodies with shawls due to the cold temperature.

Chin explained that for every degree dropped in air-conditioning temperature, the power usage would increase by between 4% and 7%.

He was unable to provide exact estimates on how much the Government could save with the move.

However, he said the ministry's Malaysia Green Technology Corporation building in Bangi which had already imposed the condition saved an estimated RM600,000 to RM700,000 annually on its energy bills.

“Offices in Putrajaya spend between RM30,000 and RM80,000 a month on electricity and about 40% of it is for air-conditioning,” he said.

He added that the meeting also agreed that all bulbs in government buildings that need to be changed must be replaced with energy-efficient CFL bulbs or LEDs.

On Malaysia's commitment to reduce carbon emission intensity by 40% in 2020, Chin said the country has passed the halfway mark.

“To date, we have reduced intensity by 29.7 million metric tonnes and to meet the 40% target, we need to reduce it by 40 million metric tonnes,” he said.


+++

Related news:


Policy over temperature limit gets warm reception

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/8/12/nation/9288938&sec=nation

PETALING JAYA: The latest policy to set a temperature limit on air-conditioners in government offices has received the thumbs up from various organisations.

Consumers Association of Penang president S.M. Mohamed Idris lauded the move but called for the policy to be implemented in the private sector immediately instead of in 2013.

“There is no need to wait. The policy should be extended to industries and the commercial sector while individuals should also practise energy-saving steps on their own accord,” he said.

He added that the people should also learn to switch off electrical appliances such as televisions and lights when they were not needed to avoid depleting the country's energy resources.

Water & Energy Consumers Association Malaysia secretary-general Soon Weng Lian said the move was timely as there was a need to reduce energy consumption.

Soon said the construction of future buildings must also take into consideration the need for natural ventilation and shade if the energy-saving move was to be further extended.

Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said the Government had to be mindful that there were certain operations, such as a company's server room, that required the room temperature to be lower than 24C.

He hoped the Government would study the policy carefully before implementing it to ensure companies were not penalised unnecessarily.

Fomca president Datuk N. Marimuthu said individual consumers could also play a role by switching off electrical appliances when not in use instead of putting the items on stand-by mode.

Real-World Tips for Instilling Green Values in Your Corporate Culture (Hierarchical vs social power)

What draws me most to this article is this statement "Change can take place in the absence of initiating jolts, may be infused in everyday organizational life, and led by insiders who need not hold hierarchical power".

This is one of the fields within an organisation that exist without formal hierarchical power position, instead this is more of social power relation.

Real-World Tips for Instilling Green Values in Your Corporate Culture

Conventional wisdom holds that the best way to bring about sweeping culture change is to jettison old ways and jolt the existing culture into a new reality.

Anyone who has experienced corporate life in America in the past decade knows that method brings mixed results and often a lingering resentment that can foul efforts to repair the damage.

This can be particularly harmful for companies trying transform a traditional corporate culture into one that values sustainability -- a construct in which employee engagement is essential.

"We suggest that such change can take place in the absence of initiating jolts, may be infused in everyday organizational life, and led by insiders who need not hold hierarchical power," management experts from Oregon and Boston universities say in research that's now available from the Network for Business Sustainability.

Use of creative, "liminal" space is the key, the researchers say. Liminal spaces can be anywhere or any occasion that allows employees to get together to talk about new ideas.

Coincidentally, the study complements a research project by Johnson Controls, whose latest look at workplace trends examines growing expectations for collaboration -- and the lack of enough workspace today that is designed for teams.

The study by management profs and a doctoral candidate concluded that:

  • Change can be fostered in everyday activities such as meetings or training programs. But to work, the interactions must occur in "safe places" for people to brainstorm and experiment with new ideas.
  • Company officials, consultants or others viewed as authority figures need not run the show. In fact, it may go over better if a respected insider facilitates. "Insiders who understand the current culture are successful change agents because they can connect new ideas to current value," the researchers contend.
  • It's not necessary for employees to unlearn existing cultural elements in order to adopt new ones.

The research from Johnson Controls was led by Marie Puybaraud and dovetails a project she headed last year that produced a widely read study on what Gen Y wants in the workplace.

The current study, released today, is based on a survey of 1,700 experienced workers and interviews with 26 experts in the industrial, technology, finance, oil & gas, and life sciences sectors.

Johnson Controls found that professionals, like the generation entering the business world, have growing expectations for collaboration in the workplace. Collaboration has become a watchword across industries and if companies hope to stay ahead of the curve and business trends, they need to provide space and technology for staff to convene face-to-face and virtually.

The findings underscore that "one-size-fits-all workplace environments are less effective than those that are built for purpose," Puybaraud said in a statement.

A summary of the research by the management professors is available for free download from the Network for Business Sustainability (pdf). Johnson Controls' full study and an executive summary (pdf) are available free from the company.

View from the C-Suite: Baxter International CEO Robert Parkinson

An inspiring interview with the top management of Baxter Internation on their eco-sustainability journey.

View from the C-Suite: Baxter International CEO Robert Parkinson

Is ISO 14001 Certification Still Relevant?

What is ISO14001 .. the spirit of being certified with IS14001 .. among other things.

Is ISO 14001 Certification Still Relevant?

My first exposure to ISO 14001 was characterized by the words of a cynic and skeptic of the value of the global standard for environmental management.

"What does it mean to be certified?" he said, repeating my question rhetorically. "It means you can pollute to the ends of the earth, as long as it is well documented."

Needless to say, the statement was a sarcastic hyperbole, since any polluter is at least held to account on legal and regulatory thresholds that affect the jurisdiction they operate within. But his remark highlighted a widespread perception of ISO 14001: Although it is capable of giving businesses a clear sense of where they're at in terms of environmental performance, no intrinsic "moral compass" of environmental responsibility is built into the standard.

Launched 15 years ago as a guideline for measuring and monitoring organizational activities that impact the environment, the ISO 14001 standard is today a widespread benchmark for thousands of organizations around the world that want to communicate to the public and stakeholders that they are environmentally responsible.

While a paltry 14,000 certifications were registered in 1999, the year the standard was launched, more than a quarter-million organizations are certified today.

In fact, the popularity of ISO 14001 has been so prolific the standard has achieved nearly the same notoriety and respect as its parent, ISO 9001, the go-to standard for organizations that want to communicate their commitment to quality management.

The latter standard essentially shaped the former (both were developed by the International Organization of Standardization) and the form and structural core of the two standards is fundamentally the same: Where an ISO 9001-conformant organization will retain the documentation supporting procedures and processes that impact product quality, ISO 14001-conformant organizations will retain documentation on procedures and processes that involve any sort of impact on the environment.

Think air, water use, wastewater output, energy use: essentially any aspect of business that can generate impacts upon the environment around us.

The widespread adoption rates and respect ISO 9001 achieved in the late '90s in many ways spelled the inevitable success of ISO 14001 as a widely sought-after standard. And while many prized the standard for the simple fact it mirrored the structure and form of ISO 9001, others criticized it on that very basis.

And therein lies the rub.

For just as ISO 9001-conformant procedures and processes do not guarantee high-quality products and performance, by virtue of its very implementation an ISO 14001 environmental management system in no way guarantees an organization is committed to improving environmental performance, nor does it provably suggest an organization is proactive and responsible in any of its environmental endeavors.

That said, certification is not a bad step. Any business that has taken the steps -- and they can be exhaustive -- of deploying an ISO 14001-conformant environmental management system and achieved certification is worthy of applause. Like 9001, it can be difficult to attain and maintain, and requires ongoing adherence to nuanced requirements through detailed documentation as well as the actualization of processes and procedures described within the associated documentation.

But the perception ISO 14001 certification cultivates -- the notion a certified organization is environmentally responsible -- is at odds with the fact a certified business might not actually be doing much to improve environmental performance.

An ISO 14001-conformant organization does not an environmentally responsible organization make.

As the cynic mentioned earlier might have elaborated, an ISO 14001-registered power plant can emit excessive air pollutants and discharge vast quantities of toxic wastewater, as long as the emissions and discharges are well measured and described.

So there's a discrepancy between what ISO 14001 implies, and what it actually does.

Given the fact many organizations invest in ISO 14001 certification simply to improve brand image -- that is, to boost the perception among stakeholders and the public at large it is committed to "green" business -- questions surrounding what certification actually means ought to arise: Are we improving environmental performance? Are we minimizing our negative environmental impacts? Are we green?

And the short answer is no. Certification does not mean anything without a commitment to the principles of continuous improvement and environmental stewardship. And these are cultural elements that go far beyond what any specifications standard can describe.

However, ISO 14001 can be thought of as an excellent foundation for the "house" of an environmental program that leverages environmental metrics and KPIs to track, measure and analyze performance. In tandem, an ISO 14001 environmental management system with real-time environmental key performance indicators is a powerful combination.

Recall the term so central to quality guru W. Edwards Deming, a man who essentially fostered the whole premise behind quality management: Continuous Improvement. While it is bandied about all too often these days, the term describes something that is essential to all business operations: the simple fact that performance on all fronts ought to be improved, continuously.

Just as ISO 14001 was modeled after ISO 9001 -- a certification to which "continuous improvement" is such a central theme -- consider that it carries the same onus: Those who achieve ISO 14001 certification, those who monitor and measure the environmental impacts of their activities, are bound to the spirit of continuous improvement.

"Spirit" is the operative word there, for while many organizations will secure ISO 14001 certification, many will present their certificate as a totem of their respect for the environment. Some, however, will actually honour the spirit of the standard and commit to continuously improving environmental performance: to minimizing negative impacts on the water we drink and the air we breathe.