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ISO 14001 EMS standard registration decisions among Canadian organizations

Author

Listed:
  • Emmanuel K. Yiridoe

    (Department of Business and Social Sciences, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, P.O. Box 550, Truro, N.S., B2N 5E3, Canada., E-mail: eyiridoe@nsac.ns.ca)

  • J. Stephen Clark

    (Department of Business and Social Sciences, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, P.O. Box 550, Truro, N.S., B2N 5E3, Canada., E-mail: sclark@nsac.ns.ca)

  • Geb E. Marett

    (11 Arlington Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116-3411., E-mail: gmarett@tellus.org)

  • Robert Gordon

    (Department of Engineering, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, P.O. Box 550, Truro, N.S., B2N 5E3, Canada; E-mail: rgordon@nsac.ns.ca)

  • Peter Duinker

    (Dalhousie University, School for Resource and Environmental Studies. 1312 Robie St., Halifax, NS B3H 3J5, Canada; E-mail: peter.duinker@dal.ca)

Abstract

This study characterized the costs and benefits associated with adopting ISO 14001 environmental management system (EMS) standard, based on a survey of ISO 14001-registered organizations in Canada. Decision makers are contemplating whether it is necessary to register to one or more of the ISO and other international standards and, if so, which ones. Furthermore, an organization that has registered separate departments to different standards and contemplates integrating such standards across the different units may be interested in attributes of particular units that will facilitate integration. Discriminant analysis was conducted to characterize the factors that distinguish between organizations that adopted ISO 14001 alone (single standard), versus those that registered to ISO 14001 along with other quality, health, and safety standards (i.e., multiple standards). The most important factor that motivated adoption to ISO 14001 was to establish a positive environmental profile, thereby promoting goodwill and integrity. Internal factors tended to dominate the motivations for adopting ISO 14001, supporting the hypothesis that external benefits may not be fully realized due to market and policy failure. Internal costs associated with registration depended on the size of the organization and ranged, on average, from CND$17,000 (for organizations with less than 100 employees), to CND$42,000 (for organizations with more than 500 employees). External costs depended more on the type (i.e., sector of the Canadian economy) than on size of the organization. The most important variable that distinguished between Canadian organizations that adopted ISO 14001 alone versus those that adopted ISO 14001 and other standards was whether the organization had an international orientation, that is, those with more than 50% of services or exports to other countries. [EconLit citations: L150, L200, Q290]. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 19: 439-457, 2003.

Suggested Citation

  • Emmanuel K. Yiridoe & J. Stephen Clark & Geb E. Marett & Robert Gordon & Peter Duinker, 2003. "ISO 14001 EMS standard registration decisions among Canadian organizations," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(4), pages 439-457.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:agribz:v:19:y:2003:i:4:p:439-457
    DOI: 10.1002/agr.10069
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Herzfeld, Thomas & Drescher, Larissa S. & Grebitus, Carola, 2011. "Cross-national adoption of private food quality standards," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 401-411.
    2. Yiridoe, Emmanuel K. & Marett, Geb E., 2004. "Mitigating the High Cost of ISO 14001 EMS Standard Certification: Lessons from Agribusiness Case Research," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 7(2), pages 1-26.
    3. Francisco J. André & Jorge A. Valenciano-Salazar, 2020. "Becoming Carbon Neutral in Costa Rica to Be More Sustainable: An AHP Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.
    4. Wasylyniuk, Chad R. & Bessel, Kristan M. & Kerr, William A. & Hobbs, Jill E., 2003. "The Evolving International Trade Regime For Food Safety And Environmental Standards: Potential Opportunities And Constraints For Saskatchewan'S Beef Feedlot Industry," Reports 23937, Estey Centre for Law and Economics in International Trade.
    5. Marco Pesce & Chenyi Shi & Andrea Critto & Xiaohui Wang & Antonio Marcomini, 2018. "SWOT Analysis of the Application of International Standard ISO 14001 in the Chinese Context. A Case Study of Guangdong Province," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-19, September.
    6. José Álvarez-García & María De la Cruz Del RíoRama, 2016. "Sustainability and EMAS: Impact of Motivations and Barriers on the Perceived Benefits from the Adoption of Standards," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-18, October.
    7. Barla, Philippe, 2007. "ISO 14001 certification and environmental performance in Quebec's pulp and paper industry," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 291-306, May.
    8. Gupta, Sonam & Innes, Robert, 2014. "Private politics and environmental management," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 319-339.
    9. Gilles Grolleau & Naoufel Mzoughi & Alban Thomas, 2007. "What drives agrifood firms to register for an Environmental Management System?," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 34(2), pages 233-255, June.
    10. Scholtens, Bert & Kleinsmann, Renske, 2011. "Incentives for subcontractors to adopt CO2 emission reporting and reduction techniques," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1877-1883, March.
    11. María De la Cruz Del Río-Rama & José Álvarez-García & Cristiana Oliveira, 2018. "Environmental Practices. Motivations and Their Influence on the Level of Implementation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-15, March.
    12. Darroch, Mark A.G., 2010. "South African Farmers’ Perceptions of the Benefits and Costs of Complying with EUREPGAP to Export Fresh Citrus to the European Union (EU)," 2010 AAAE Third Conference/AEASA 48th Conference, September 19-23, 2010, Cape Town, South Africa 96437, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    13. Nishitani, Kimitaka, 2009. "An empirical study of the initial adoption of ISO 14001 in Japanese manufacturing firms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 669-679, January.

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