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Training and communication in the implementation of environmental management systems (ISO 14001): a case study at the University of Gavle, Sweden

Sammalisto, Kaisu LU and Brorson, Torbjörn LU (2008) In Journal of Cleaner Production 16(3). p.299-309
Abstract
Training and communication are essential elements in the implementation of environmental management systems (EMS). This study is based on two main questions: (i) What methods for training and communication will support the implementation of EMS at a university? and, (ii) How did faculty and staff perceive the training and communication activities? The study includes a literature review, a case study of methods for training and communication, and results of a semi quantitative survey of the perception of training and communication. All activities took place at the University of Gavle (Sweden). The University of Gavle was certified according to ISO 14001 in 2004. Practical experiences from the implementation of EMS in industry were used as... (More)
Training and communication are essential elements in the implementation of environmental management systems (EMS). This study is based on two main questions: (i) What methods for training and communication will support the implementation of EMS at a university? and, (ii) How did faculty and staff perceive the training and communication activities? The study includes a literature review, a case study of methods for training and communication, and results of a semi quantitative survey of the perception of training and communication. All activities took place at the University of Gavle (Sweden). The University of Gavle was certified according to ISO 14001 in 2004. Practical experiences from the implementation of EMS in industry were used as reference. The literature review indicates that training is a key factor during implementation of EMS, and that training may change attitude and behaviour among managers and employees. Similar conclusions can be drawn from this study. The case study, and practical experiences from industry, indicate that similar methods of EMS training and communication can be shared by industry and universities. However, "academic freedom" and "critical thinking" may result in the need for more interactive training methods at a university than in industry. The results of the survey indicate that the training and communication have increased awareness of environmental issues. A deeper understanding of the personal role in the EMS was also observed. It can be concluded that the EMS training and communication team has a demanding task to introduce the concept of indirect environmental aspects at a university. Lecturers and researchers should be convinced that the greening of a college involves more than, for example, reducing the consumption of paper. The main role of EMS at a university should be to focus on indirect environmental aspects, for example, to introduce environmental and sustainability issues in courses and research. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
awareness, sustainable development, university, environmental management, training, communication
in
Journal of Cleaner Production
volume
16
issue
3
pages
299 - 309
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000251653100004
  • scopus:35549007216
ISSN
0959-6526
DOI
10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.07.029
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b0dfae01-44e9-4eee-9865-749b9b05dec6 (old id 965899)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:19:17
date last changed
2022-04-14 17:11:19
@article{b0dfae01-44e9-4eee-9865-749b9b05dec6,
  abstract     = {{Training and communication are essential elements in the implementation of environmental management systems (EMS). This study is based on two main questions: (i) What methods for training and communication will support the implementation of EMS at a university? and, (ii) How did faculty and staff perceive the training and communication activities? The study includes a literature review, a case study of methods for training and communication, and results of a semi quantitative survey of the perception of training and communication. All activities took place at the University of Gavle (Sweden). The University of Gavle was certified according to ISO 14001 in 2004. Practical experiences from the implementation of EMS in industry were used as reference. The literature review indicates that training is a key factor during implementation of EMS, and that training may change attitude and behaviour among managers and employees. Similar conclusions can be drawn from this study. The case study, and practical experiences from industry, indicate that similar methods of EMS training and communication can be shared by industry and universities. However, "academic freedom" and "critical thinking" may result in the need for more interactive training methods at a university than in industry. The results of the survey indicate that the training and communication have increased awareness of environmental issues. A deeper understanding of the personal role in the EMS was also observed. It can be concluded that the EMS training and communication team has a demanding task to introduce the concept of indirect environmental aspects at a university. Lecturers and researchers should be convinced that the greening of a college involves more than, for example, reducing the consumption of paper. The main role of EMS at a university should be to focus on indirect environmental aspects, for example, to introduce environmental and sustainability issues in courses and research. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.}},
  author       = {{Sammalisto, Kaisu and Brorson, Torbjörn}},
  issn         = {{0959-6526}},
  keywords     = {{awareness; sustainable development; university; environmental management; training; communication}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{299--309}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Cleaner Production}},
  title        = {{Training and communication in the implementation of environmental management systems (ISO 14001): a case study at the University of Gavle, Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.07.029}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.07.029}},
  volume       = {{16}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}