Directory UMM :Data Elmu:jurnal:E:Environmental Management and Health:Vol08.Issue1.1997:
Defining operating environmental strategies:
programmes and plans within Italian industries
Giovanni Azzone
De partme nt o f Ec o no mic s
Raffaella Bianchi
De partme nt o f Ec o no mic s
Renato M auri
De partme nt o f Ec o no mic s
Giuliano Noci
De partme nt o f Ec o no mic s
Over the last decades, public
opinion, governments and
regulators have forced executives of both large and small
corporations to improve their
environmental performance
and, for this reason, to consider the environment as a
signifi cant competitive priority. The objective of the paper
is twofold, to: design an
effective taxonomy of operating environmental strategies;
and develop an empirical
investigation aimed at testing
whether the identifi ed environmental strategies correspond to real strategic behaviours of companies.
The authors wish to thank
managers of the interviewed
companies. Financial support of “ Impatto dei problemi di compatibilità ambientale sulle tecniche di
valutazione e controllo degli
investimenti in nuove tecnologie” by C.N.R. Comitato
and of The Chamber of
Commerce of Milano is
gratefully acknowledged.
The paper is due to the joint
work of the authors. However, Giovanni Azzone wrote
the introduction and the
fi rst section; Raffaella
Bianchi wrote the second
section, Renato Mauri wrote
the fi nal section and Giuliano Noci wrote the penultimate section.
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [ 1997] 4 –1 9
© MCB Unive rsity Pre ss
[ ISSN 0956-6163]
[4 ]
and Pro duc tio n, Po lite c nic o di Milano , Italy
and Pro duc tio n, Po lite c nic o di Milano , Italy
and Pro duc tio n, Po lite c nic o di Milano , Italy
and Pro duc tio n, Po lite c nic o di Milano , Italy
Introduction
Over th e la st deca des, en vir on m en ta l issu es
h ave r eceived a gr ow in g con cer n fr om top
m a n a ger s. E xter n a l pr essu r es follow in g fr om
pu blic opin ion , r e gu la tor s, gover n m en ts,
“gr een ” m ovem en ts a n d fin a n cia l en ter pr ises
– su ch a s ba n k s a n d in su r a n ce com pa n ies –
a n d in ter n a l dr iver s r ela ted to th e ch a n ge of
em ployees’ envir on m en ta l aw a r en ess h ave
led execu tives to con sider th e en vir on m en ta l
va r ia ble a s a sign ifica n t com petitive pr ior ity
a n d, h en ce, to in clu de it in to th e over a ll
pr ocess of str a te gy for m a tion (Azzon e a n d
Ber telè, 1994; N oci, 1995a ).
Ow in g to th e in cr ea sin g im por ta n ce a ttr ibu ted by m a n a ger s to en vir on m en t-r ela ted
issu es, m a n y a u th or s h ave design ed n ew
m odels a im ed a t iden tifyin g ba sic en vir on m en ta l str a te gies (Ha ss, 1994). Un for tu n a tely,
m ost of sta te-of-th e-a r t a ppr oa ch es defi n e
“gen er ic” en vir on m en ta l str a te gies sim ply by
a n a lysin g th e r ela tive im por ta n ce a ttr ibu ted
by pla n n er s to en vir on m en ta l per for m a n ce
w ith r espect to th e oth er com petitive pr ior ities (i.e. qu a lity, tim e, cost, fl exibility, etc.),
wh ile n on e of th em iden tifies th e oper a tin g
con dition s th a t a llow th e fir m to im plem en t
th e in ten ded str a te gy effectively.
To over com e th ese lim its, th e objective of
th e pa per is twofold, to:
1 defin e a ta xon om y of oper a tin g en vir on m en ta l str a te gies; a n d
2 develop a n em pir ica l in vestiga tion w ith in
sm a ll a n d la r ge Ita lia n com pa n ies a im ed
a t ch eck in g th e con sisten cy between th e
su ggested m odel a n d th e cu r r en t beh aviou r s of fir m s.
Th e pa per is divided in to fou r m a jor section s.
Th e fir st section dea ls w ith th e a n a lysis of th e
pr ocess of en vir on m en ta l str a te gy for m a tion .
Th e n ext section discu sses m a jor sta te-of-th ea r t a ppr oa ch es. Th e pen u ltim a te section
pr esen ts th e in te gr a ted fr a m ewor k su ggested
to cla ssify fea sible oper a tin g en vir on m en ta l
str a te gies. F in a lly, th e la st section look s a t th e
r esu lts of th e em pir ica l in vestiga tion .
The process of “green” strategy
formation: an integrated framework
With in pr ofit or ga n iza tion s, en vir on m en ta l
str a te gies ca n be con sider ed a s a set of gu idelin es th a t th e fir m s defin e to r espon d to cu r r en t in ter n a l a n d/ or exter n a l pr essu r es
a n d/ or to a n ticipa te fu tu r e evolu tion of th e
com petitive envir on m en t, of r e gu la tor s a n d
of th e cu stom er s’ n eeds.
As r e ga r ds th e pr ocess of str a te gy for m a tion itself, we wou ld say th a t th e in ten ded
en vir on m en ta l str a te gies of a fir m r epr esen t
th e syn th esis of a com plex pr ocess in wh ich
m a n y fa ctor s exer t th eir in fl u en ce. In F igu r e
1, we r epr esen t th e “logica l” steps of th e
pr ocess.
Sta r tin g fr om th e a n a lysis of th e exter n a l
con text, ea ch fir m – a ccor din g to its ow n
“str a te gic or ien ta tion ” – decides wh eth er to
in clu de en vir on m en ta l fa ctor s in to th e over a ll pr ocess of str a te gy for m a tion . At th is
level, th e com pa n y iden tifi es th e de gr ee of
pr ior ity wh ich m u st be a ttr ibu ted to en vir on m en t-r ela ted va r ia bles w ith r espect to th e
oth er com petitive pr ior ities. Th e com pa n y’s
“str a te gic or ien ta tion ” depen ds on a n u m ber
of fa ctor s th a t a r e closely r ela ted to th e follow in g:
• Its str a te gic a ttitu de, descr ibin g th e gen er a l
per spective a ccor din g to wh ich th e com pa n y position s itself fr om a com petitive
sta n dpoin t – i.e. wh eth er it u su a lly a im s a t
a n ticipa tin g com petitor s to a ssu m e th e
lea der sh ip or it develops a ction s wh ich a r e
typica l of follower s a n d, h en ce, im plem en ts
sh or t-ter m -or ien ted pr ogr a m m es.
• Th e com pa n y’s in ter n a l con figu r a tion ;
m or e pr ecisely, fa ctor s r ela ted to th e cor por a te en vir on m en ta l cu ltu r e, th e ava ila ble
fin a n cia l r esou r ces a n d th e type of em ployees’ “gr een ” com peten ces exer t a gr ea t
in fl u en ce in deter m in in g th e com pa n y’s
over a ll str a te gic or ien ta tion . Su ch item s
br in g in to eviden ce th e m a in con str a in ts
a n d/ or oppor tu n ities for th e com pa n y in
r ela tion to th e im plem en ta tion of th e differ en t en vir on m en ta l str a te gies: in deed, a
fir m th a t, for in sta n ce, h a s a lim ited
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Figure 1
The pro c e ss o f “ gre e n” strate gy fo rmatio n
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
ava ila bility of fin a n cia l r esou r ces ca n n ot
im plem en t a “gr een ” str a te gy a im ed a t
a n ticipa tin g com petitor s a n d, h en ce, a t
a ch ievin g a n en vir on m en t-ba sed com petitive a dva n ta ge sin ce its a doption u su a lly
r equ ir es sign ifica n t in vestm en ts r ela ted,
for exa m ple, to th e in tr odu ction of n ew
pr odu ct developm en t tech n iqu es (design for
r ecyclin g or design for disa ssem blin g) or of
clea n tech n ologies. E qu a lly, it is a lm ost
im possible to develop com plex en vir on m en ta l pr ogr a m m es – a ffectin g th e wh ole va lu e
ch a in of th e com pa n y – w ith in fir m s wh ich
pr esen t lim ited “gr een ” com peten ces.
Accor din g to its str a te gic or ien ta tion , th e
com pa n y defi n es th e de gr ee of pr ior ity th a t
m u st be a ttr ibu ted to en vir on m en t-r ela ted
issu es. To th is en d, we poin t ou t th a t com pa n ies oper a tin g in th e sa m e com petitive
en vir on m en t a n d u n der th e pr essu r es of
th e sa m e m a r k et for ces cou ld decide to
a ttr ibu te a differ en t pr ior ity to en vir on m en ta l issu es ju st in r ela tion to th eir str a te gic
or ien ta tion .
Th e fin a l step of th e pr ocess of en vir on m en ta l
str a te gy for m a tion dea ls w ith oper a tion a lizin g th e de gr ee of pr ior ity a ttr ibu ted by th e
top m a n a gem en t to th e en vir on m en t in ter m s
of th e in ten ded en vir on m en ta l str a te gy. Th is
m ea n s th a t, a ccor din g to its str a te gic or ien ta tion , th e com pa n y iden tifi es pla n s, oper a tin g
investm en ts, th e level of in ter n a l com m itm en t a n d a ctivities of th e cor por a te va lu e
ch a in th a t m u st be in volved for th e effective
im plem en ta tion of th e selected str a te gy.
Accor din g to th e a bove fr a m ewor k , it
em er ges th a t a n effective m odel a im ed a t
su ggestin g a ta xon om y of en vir on m en ta l
str a te gies m u st br in g to ligh t both ch a r a cter istics pecu lia r to ea ch type of en vir on m en ta l
str a te gy a n d th e type of “gr een ” m a n a gem en t
n eeded for its im plem en ta tion . In pa r ticu la r,
th e a ch ievem en t of su ch objectives r equ ir es
th e in tr odu ction of va r ia bles – gr ou ped in to
th r ee m a in ca te gor ies – descr ibin g:
1 th e com pa n y’s exter n a l con text;
2 its str a te gic or ien ta tion ;
3 oper a tin g solu tion s for th e im plem en ta tion of ea ch en vir on m en ta l str a te gy.
[5 ]
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
State-of-the-art models
Sta te-of-th e-a r t liter a tu r e su ggests m a n y
m odels for th e iden tifica tion of fea sible en vir on m en ta l str a te gies: we h ave r esea r ch stu dies developed by a ca dem ics, a r ticles th a t
a n a lyse ca se stu dies, r epor ts pu blish ed by
politica l in stitu tion s to a ddr ess th e
com pa n y’s en vir on m en ta l effor ts of th e com pa n ies a n d, fi n a lly, m odels pr oposed by con su lta n ts (Weldfor d a n d Gou ldson , 1993).
In ou r opin ion , we ca n gr ou p th is w ide set
of m odels in to two m a in ca te gor ies:
1 Evolu tiv e m od els a ccor din g to wh ich distin ct en vir on m en ta l str a te gies a r e iden tified a s a specifi c sta n ce of bu sin ess m a n a gem en t a m on g a con tin u u m of fea sible
en vir on m en ta l beh aviou r s. Th e two
extr em es of su ch a sca le a r e u su a lly
r ela ted to a pa ssive beh aviou r – i.e. th e
str a te gy of th e fir m wh ich does n ot con sider th e en vir on m en t va r ia ble – a n d a n
“eth ica l” str a te gy of a com pa n y wh ich
con sider s th e r edu ction of its im pa ct on
th e sta te of th e n a tu r a l r esou r ces a s th e
m ost im por ta n t com petitive pr ior ity. In
gen er a l ter m s, th e in tr odu ction of su ch a
sca le u n der sta n ds th e con cept of a
dyn a m ic pa tter n of en vir on m en ta l str a tegies.
2 T a x on om ic m od els, wh er e som e “sta tic”
en vir on m en ta l str a te gies a r e iden tified,
wh ile n o evolu tive pa tter n is su ggested,
n or pa r a m eter s a llow in g th e com pa n y to
ch a n ge th e type of im plem en ted str a te gy
a r e descr ibed or even ta k en in to a ccou n t.
Th e efficien cy of su ch m odels ca n be eva lu a ted by r efer r in g to th e in te gr a ted fr a m ewor k
pr eviou sly iden tified; by a n a lysin g va r ia bles
th a t a r e in clu ded in ea ch a ppr oa ch , we ca n
poin t ou t wh eth er a n d to wh a t exten t ea ch
a ppr oa ch m a tch es th e objective of iden tifyin g
oper a tin g envir on m en ta l str a te gies.
Evolutive models
Ma n y sta te-of-th e-a r t a ppr oa ch es m ay be
con sider ed a s evolu tive m odels (Azzon e a n d
Ber telè, 1994; Mü ller a n d Koech lin , 1992;
Room e, 1992). F r om a gen er a l view poin t, su ch
a ppr oa ch es iden tify a ta xon om y of en vir on m en ta l str a te gies th a t, in som e ca ses, is n ot
con sisten t w ith th e cu r r en t com petitive en vir on m en t. In pa r ticu la r, th ey a ssu m e th a t, a t
two extr em es, com pa n ies ca n a dopt pa ssive or
eth ica l str a te gies: in ou r opin ion , th e im plem en ta tion of th e for m er type of str a te gy
sh ou ld lea d th e fir m to a ba n don th e m a r k et
du e to th e gr ow in g con cer n of pu blic opin ion
a n d of r u le-m a k in g boa r ds for en vir on m en ta l
issu es, wh ile th e a doption of a n “eth ica l”
[6 ]
str a te gic beh aviou r is n ot con sisten t w ith th e
econ om ica l objectives of pr ofit or ga n iza tion s.
Refer r in g, for in sta n ce, to th e well-k n ow n
a ppr oa ch su ggested by Room e (1992), th e
a bove iden tified lim its sta n d ou t clea r ly;
in deed, th e a u th or distin gu ish es a m on g
1 a n on -com plia n ce-ba sed str a te gy;
2 a com plia n ce-ba sed str a te gy a im ed a t
r ea ctin g a t exter n a l pr essu r es;
3 a str a te gy a im ed a t com m er cia l a n d en vir on m en ta l excellen ce;
4 a str a te gy “lea din g edge”, th u s iden tifyin g
two br oa d str a te gic option s – i.e. str a tegies 1 a n d 4 – th a t a r e n ot su sta in a ble in
th e lon g ter m .
Mor eover, w ith r espect to th e in te gr a ted
fr a m ewor k , it does n ot develop a com plete
a n a lysis of a ll th e r eleva n t item s a ffectin g th e
pr ocess of en vir on m en ta l str a te gy for m a tion ;
in pa r ticu la r, it does n ot:
• iden tify str a te gies bu t differ en t de gr ees of
pr ior ity th a t cou ld be a ttr ibu ted to “gr een ”
issu es by th e com pa n ies. In th is sen se, to
defin e a n effective ta xon om y of en vir on m en ta l str a tegies, we n eed to develop a fu r th er step a im ed a t tr a n sla tin g su ch degr ee of
pr ior ities in to oper atin g str a tegies;
• con sider h ow m a n a ger s ca n im plem en t th e
iden tifi ed en vir on m en ta l beh aviou r s sin ce
it poin ts ou t m a in in ter n a l a ctor s/ depa r tm en ts to be in volved for th e effective im plem en ta tion of differ en t en vir on m en ta l pr ogr a m m es bu t it does n ot descr ibe h ow su ch
in itia tives ca n be effectively ca r r ied ou t;
• en ligh ten a n y em pir ica l in vestiga tion
a im ed a t ver ifyin g wh eth er a n d in wh ich
field th e iden tified str a te gic beh aviou r ca n
be fou n d.
Sim ila r pr oblem s em er ge by a n a lysin g oth er
m odels su ch a s th e cla ssifica tion su ggested by
Mü ller a n d Koech lin (1992). Th e a u th or s su ggest a lm ost th e sa m e ta xon om y w ith r espect
to th e wor k of Room e; in pa r ticu la r, th ey
discr im in a te a m on g:
• in a ctive fir m s;
• r ea ctive com pa n ies;
• pr oa ctive cor por a tion s; a n d
• h yper a ctive com pa n ies pr esen tin g a n eth ica l objective a ccor din g to wh ich th e cor por a te m ission is to m in im ize th e com pa n y’s
en vir on m en ta l im pa ct on th e sta te of n a tu r a l r esou r ces.
With r espect to th e in te gr a ted fr a m ewor k ,
su ch a n a ppr oa ch does n ot iden tify u n der
wh ich con dition s ea ch en vir on m en ta l str a te gy is m or e effective: m or e pr ecisely, it does
n ot a n a lyse h ow th e com pa n y’s in ter n a l con figu r a tion – expr essed in ter m s of in fr a str u ctu r a l a n d tech n ologica l r esou r ces – ca n su ppor t th e im plem en ta tion of ea ch en vir on m en ta l str a te gy.
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Hen ce, even if we h ave ta k en a lim ited set of
m odels in to con sider a tion , it clea r ly em er ges
th a t evolu tive a ppr oa ch es do n ot effectively
br in g to ligh t m a n a ger ia l a n d oper a tin g con dition s th a t m a k e th e im plem en ta tion of
differ en t “gr een ” str a te gies fea sible.
pr ogr a m m es a im ed a t developin g en d-of-pipe
solu tion s, a n in n ova tive str a te gy a n d a n ich e
str a te gy, bu t it a ch ieves a low com pleten ess
sin ce it on ly poin ts ou t gen er ic str a te gies th a t
m u st be n ecessa r ily ch a r a cter ized in m or e
deta il.
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
Taxonomic models
With r espect to evolu tive m odels, ta xon om ic
a ppr oa ch es su ggest a “sta tic” descr iption of
th e en vir on m en ta l str a te gies, sin ce th ey
poin t ou t m a in ch a r a cter istics of differ en t
en vir on m en t-r ela ted str a te gies w ith ou t su ggestin g a n y dyn a m ic pa tter n .
Gen er a lly spea k in g, th ese m odels ca n ca u se
pr oblem s wh en u sed to iden tify th e en vir on m en ta l str a te gy of a n existin g fir m . In deed,
we h ave to con sider th a t m ost of th e m odels
w ith in th is cla ss distin gu ish between differ en t str a te gies by iden tifyin g th e en vir on m en ta l pr ogr a m m es th a t a r e con sisten t w ith ea ch
en vir on m en ta l beh aviou r : bu t th e pr oblem is
th a t th e sa m e pr ogr a m m e ca n be ca r r ied ou t
a ccor din g to differ en t str a te gies, th u s m a k in g
it n on -ch a r a cter istic of a u n iqu e beh aviou r.
With r espect to th e in te gr a ted fr a m ewor k ,
su ch m odels pa r tia lly ta k e va r ia bles r ela ted
to th e exter n a l con text in to a ccou n t; w ith
r e ga r d to th e oth er sign ifica n t fa ctor s, th ey
la ck a system a tic fr a m ewor k wh ich a llow s u s
to defin e both th e con text wh er e ea ch str a te gy a ppea r s m or e su ita ble a n d m a n a ger ia l
in fr a str u ctu r a l r esou r ces n eeded for th e
effective im plem en ta tion of ea ch str a te gy.
To a n a lyse in m or e deta il th e ch a r a cter istics pecu lia r to th is cla ss of m odels, we cou ld
r efer to th e wor k of Room e; fr om th e fr a m ewor k of Ste ger (1993), th r ee m a in types of
gen er ic str a te gies a r e der ived: a defen sive
str a te gy a ccor din g to wh ich th e fir m s a im a t
com plyin g w ith pr escr iption s of r e gu la tor s;
a n offen sive str a te gy wh ose m a in objective is
th e a ch ievem en t of pr odu cts w ith h igh er
en vir on m en ta l per for m a n ce w ith r espect to
com petitor s; a n d, a n in n ova tive str a te gy,
a ccor din g to wh ich th e en vir on m en ta l va r ia ble plays th e sa m e r ole a s th e oth er com petitive pr ior ities in th e over a ll pr ocess of str a te gy for m a tion . Th is m odel does n ot con sider
th e com pa n y’s str a te gic or ien ta tion sin ce it
iden tifies str a te gies wh ich a r e con sider ed a s
th e on ly fea sible a lter n a tive w ith in a specifi c
exter n a l con text. At th e sa m e tim e, wh en it
a im s a t defin in g con dition s for th e effective
im plem en ta tion of ea ch str a te gy, it ta k es on ly
pr ogr a m m es in h er en t in th e com pa n y’s oper a tion s in to con sider a tion .
Refer r in g to oth er a ppr oa ch es su ch a s th e
ta xon om y su ggested by Sch ot (1992), we ca n
r evea l a lm ost th e sa m e lim its: th is a ppr oa ch ,
in pa r ticu la r, iden tifies th r ee en vir on m en ta l
str a te gies, i.e. a depen den t str a te gy a ccor din g
to wh ich a com pa n y m a in ly im plem en ts
Comparing the approaches
Th e a n a lysis of m a in sta te-of-th e-a r t m odels
a llow s u s to iden tify com m on fea tu r es th a t
m u st be n ecessa r ily in clu ded in a m odel
a im ed a t ch a r a cter izin g th e cor por a te en vir on m en ta l str a te gies a n d m a in lim its th a t
m u st be exceeded to a ch ieve sign ifica n t
r esu lts.
Com pa r in g th e va r ia bles we m et in th e
a bove m odels w ith th ose we in tr odu ced in th e
con ceptu a l m odel, we con clu de th a t, wh ile
n ot a ll ta xon om ies ta k e in to a ccou n t th e th r ee
va r ia bles a t th e sa m e tim e, a ll th e sa m e, th e
fea tu r es we poin ted ou t a r e r e ga r ded a s cr itica l in th e m a k in g of a n en vir on m en ta l str a te gy; h en ce, th is becom es a n im plicit va lida tion of ou r m odel a n d of its bein g exh a u stive
in poin tin g ou t th e deter m in a n t fea tu r e of a n
en vir on m en ta l str a te gy.
A contingency model
To defin e oper a tin g en vir on m en ta l str a te gies,
we n eed to con sider a s a wh ole, fa ctor s th a t
in fl u en ce th e pr ocess of en vir on m en ta l str a te gy for m a tion . In pa r ticu la r, we develop a n
a n a lysis a r ticu la ted a t two differ en t levels:
fir st, we descr ibe th e pr oposed ta xon om y of
en vir on m en ta l str a te gies a n d m a in deter m in a n ts th a t m a k e su sta in a ble ea ch of th em ;
secon d, we discu ss h ow to im plem en t differ en t “gr een ” str a te gic option s.
Identifying operating environmental
strategies
Accor din g to th e com pa n y’s gen er a l str a te gic
or ien ta tion a n d m a in oppor tu n ities a n d
th r ea ts follow in g fr om th e com petitive en vir on m en t, str a te gies tr a n sla te th e de gr ee of
pr ior ity a ttr ibu ted by th e com pa n y to en vir on m en ta l issu es in ter m s of pla n s a n d pr ogr a m m es (see F igu r e 1).
To iden tify a n effective ta xon om y of en vir on m en ta l str a te gies, we h ave in tr odu ced
th r ee cla sses of va r ia bles th a t r espectively
distin gu ish th e:
1 m a in ch a r a cter istics of th e exter n a l con text wh er e th e fi r m oper a tes;
2 fir m ’s in ter n a l con figu r a tion ;
3 com pa n y’s gen er a l str a te gic or ien ta tion .
Th e fa ctor descr ibin g th e cor por a te str a te gic
or ien ta tion m u st be in clu ded in th e ta xon om y
to discr im in a te pr ecisely a m on g differ en t
de gr ees of pr ior ity th a t ca n be a ttr ibu ted to
[7 ]
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
th e en vir on m en ta l va r ia ble w ith r espect to
th e oth er com petitive pr ior ities, wh ile th e
in tr odu ction of item s descr ibin g th e con text
in wh ich th e fir m wor k s a n d its in ter n a l con figu r a tion a llow s u s both to a n a lyse u n der
wh ich con dition s ea ch str a te gy r epr esen ts a
su sta in a ble option a n d to ch a r a cter ize th e
deter m in a n ts of ea ch str a te gic a ttitu de.
T h e ex ter n a l con tex t. Th e iden tifica tion of
m a in fea tu r es ch a r a cter izin g th e com pa n y’s
exter n a l con text r epr esen ts a cr u cia l step in
th e defin ition of th e ta xon om y sin ce str a tegies ca n be con sider ed a s a r espon se to pr essu r es r esu ltin g fr om m a in exter n a l a ctor s or
a s a m a n a ger ia l tool su ppor tin g execu tives in
th e a n ticipa tion of fu tu r e m a r k et r equ ir em en ts. To th is en d, a com pa n y h a s to defi n e
r ela tion sh ips w ith a w ide set of sta k eh older s
– su ch a s r e gu la tor s, cu stom er s, su pplier s,
ba n k s, in su r a n ce com pa n ies, gover n m en ts,
etc. – th a t, in som e ca ses, for ce th e com pa n y
to a dopt specific en vir on m en ta l a ction s.
Hen ce, a ccor din g to th ese issu es, it em er ges
th a t a n effective ch a r a cter iza tion of th e exter n a l con text m u st ta k e in to a ccou n t th e deter m in a n ts of exter n a l pr essu r es in ter m s of
th eir exten t a n d fr equ en cy (see F igu r e 2). Th e
in tr odu ction of th e for m er fa ctor a llow s u s to
iden tify th e depth of m a r k et r equ ir em en ts
a n d, in pa r ticu la r, to a n a lyse wh eth er th ey
r equ ir e a n ew pa r a digm of en vir on m en ta l
m a n a gem en t, wh ile th e defi n ition of th e la tter item is a im ed a t descr ibin g wh eth er pr essu r es of th e com pa n y’s sta k eh older s a r e occa sion a l or, on th e con tr a r y, a r e con tin u a l a n d,
for th is r ea son , n ecessa r ily lea d th e fi r m to
con sider en vir on m en ta l issu es a s a sign ifica n t m a n a ger ia l topic.
T h e in ter n a l con fi gu ra tion . At th is level, we
a im to descr ibe fa ctor s wh ich a r e r ela ted to
th e fir m ’s in ter n a l con fi gu r a tion a n d wh ich
a ffect th e pr ocess of en vir on m en ta l str a te gy
for m a tion ; in th is sen se, ou r con cer n dea ls
w ith iden tifyin g th e va r ia bles th a t cou ld lea d
th e com pa n y’s “str a te gic a ttitu de” tow a r ds
th e en vir on m en ta l va r ia ble. (See “Im plem en tin g th e iden tified en vir on m en ta l str a te gies”
for th e a n a lysis of th e m a in m a n a ger ia l con dition s a n d th e type of h u m a n a n d tech n ologica l r esou r ces th a t a r e n ecessa r y for th e effective im plem en ta tion of differ en t en vir on m en ta l str a te gies.)
Figure 2
A c harac te rizatio n o f e xte rnal pre ssure s
[8 ]
To su ppor t ou r a im s, we distin gu ish a m on g
th r ee k ey fa ctor s r espectively poin tin g ou t:
1 th e com pa n y’s en vir on m en ta l cu ltu r e;
2 th e ava ila bility of fi n a n cia l r esou r ces; a n d
3 th e em ployees’ “gr een ” com peten ces.
In deed, th e com pa n y’s en vir on m en ta l cu ltu r e
r epr esen ts on e of th e m ost im por ta n t deter m in a n ts in th e defin ition of th e en vir on m en ta l str a te gies: it depen ds on th e com pa n y’s
h istor y, th e fi elds wh er e it oper a tes a n d th e
cou n tr y in wh ich it h a s th e h ea dqu a r ter s or
its pla n ts. Hen ce, th e in tr odu ction of su ch a
va r ia ble a llow s u s to iden tify th e level of
en vir on m en ta l aw a r en ess of th e com pa n y’s
em ployees a n d, in th is sen se, to a n a lyse h ow
it w ill m a n a ge th e en vir on m en ta l va r ia ble
a n d h ow it w ill r ea ct to exter n a l pr essu r es.
On th e oth er h a n d, we n eed to in tr odu ce a
fa ctor poin tin g ou t th e ava ila bility of fi n a n cia l r esou r ces sin ce com pa n ies, even th ose
ch a r a cter ized by th e sa m e en vir on m en ta l
cu ltu r e, cou ld decide to a ssu m e differ en t
str a te gic beh aviou r s a s r e ga r ds th e m a n a gem en t of th e en vir on m en ta l va r ia ble a ccor din g to th eir ca pita l r a tio con str a in ts. F in a lly,
w ith r e ga r d to th e em ployees’ “gr een ” com peten ces, we h ave to con sider th a t, in con texts
ch a r a cter ized by sign ifica n t tech n ica l a n d
m a n a ger ia l en vir on m en ta l com peten ces, th e
a doption of com plex pr ogr a m m es for th e
r edu ction of th e com pa n y’s im pa ct on th e
sta te of n a tu r a l r esou r ces is gr ea tly favou r ed.
T h e com pa n y’s stra tegic a ttitu d e. Con sider in g th a t th e com pa n y’s str a te gic a ttitu de
descr ibes, fr om a gen er a l view poin t, h ow a n d
wh eth er th e fir m r ea cts or pr oa cts to m a r k et
stim u li, we iden tified th r ee types of str a te gic
a ttitu de w ith r espect to com petitive va r ia bles; we distin gu ish ed between :
1 A d a ptiv e com pa n ies, i.e. fir m s wh ich a im
a t r ea ctin g to exter n a l pr essu r es per ceived
a s con str a in ts.
2 A n ticipa tiv e com pa n ies, i.e. fir m s wh ich ,
by con sider in g th e expected evolu tion of
th e com petitive en vir on m en t a n d of fu tu r e
cu stom er s’ r equ ir em en ts, a im a t in tr odu cin g pr oa ctive pr ogr a m m es a n ticipa tin g
sign ifica n t exter n a l pr essu r es.
3 In n ova tiv e fi r m s, i.e. com pa n ies wh ich ,
a ccor din g to a lon g-ter m or ien ted per spective, ta ke wea k sign a ls in to con sider a tion to
ver ify wh eth er th e explor ed m odification s
in th e exter n a l con text cou ld be con sider ed a s r ea l oppor tu n ities for th e com pa n y.
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
Th e str a te gic a ttitu de in a fi r m r esu lts fr om
th e com bin a tion of va r iou s fa ctor s; differ en t
com bin a tion s of th e pa r a m eter s below m ay
pr odu ce th e sa m e str a te gic a ttitu de (see
F igu r e 3).
The de gre e o f prio rity attribute d to the
e nviro nme ntal variable within the o ve rall
pro c e ss o f strate gy fo rmatio n
To iden tify th e de gr ee of pr ior ity a ttr ibu ted
by m a n a ger s to en vir on m en ta l issu es, we
h ave to r evea l wh eth er th e com pa n y in tegr a tes th e “gr een ” issu es in to th e pr ocess of
str a te gy for m a tion or if it sim ply con sider s
th e en vir on m en t a s a sign ifica n t m a n a ger ia l
topic. Mor e pr ecisely, we a ssu m e th a t m a n a ger s ca n con sider su ch en vir on m en ta l
issu es a s:
• A con stra in t; a ccor din g to th is per spective
th e com pa n y does n ot a dopt a con tin u ou s
im pr ovem en t-ba sed ph ilosoph y r ela ted to
its en vir on m en ta l per for m a n ce bu t it con sider s “gr een ” issu es m a in ly a s a tech n ica l
pr oblem th a t m u st be a n a lysed on ly in
r ela tion to n ew pr escr iption s of r e gu la tor s
or in ca se of cu stom er s’ bou n din g r equ ests
w ith a h igh ba r ga in in g power.
• A sign ifi ca n t m a n a ger ia l issu e sin ce th e
com pa n y a im s a t con sider in g th e en vir on m en t a s a n im por ta n t com petitive pr ior ity
even if th e im plem en ta tion of en vir on m en tba sed in itia tives h a s a su bor din a te im por ta n ce w ith r espect to pr ogr a m m es a im ed a t
im pr ovin g oth er com petitive pr ior ities a s
qu a lity, cost, tim e, etc.
• A stra tegic elem en t to in clu de in to th e over a ll pr ocess of str a te gy for m a tion : in th is
sen se, th e com pa n y develops com plex pr ogr a m m es, su ch a s r ecyclin g-ba sed in itia tives, th a t a ffect th e wh ole cor por a te va lu e
ch a in a n d, a t th e sa m e tim e, a ch ieves a h igh
level of com m itm en t w ith r e ga r d both to
depa r tm en ts involved in th e en vir on m en ta l
per for m a n ce im pr ovem en t pr ocess a n d to
fin a n cia l r esou r ces em ployed for th e a doption of “gr een ” pr ogr a m m es.
Accor din g to th e a bove issu es, it clea r ly
em er ges th a t th e com pa n y’s str a te gic a ttitu de
is th e m ost im por ta n t deter m in a n t for th e
iden tifi ca tion of th e de gr ee of pr ior ity a ttr ibu ted to en vir on m en ta l issu es w ith r espect to
th e oth er com petitive per for m a n ce (see F igu r e 4).
Figure 3
Main e le me nts c harac te rizing the c o mpany’ s strate gic attitude
Figure 4
The de gre e o f prio rity attribute d to “ gre e n” issue s with re spe c t to the c o mpany’ s ge ne ral
strate gic attitude
[9 ]
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
In deed, a da ptive fir m s u su a lly con sider th e
en vir on m en t a s a con str a in t sin ce th ey essen tia lly a dopt str a te gies of follower sh ip a n d, in
th is sen se, even in r ela tion to “gr een ” issu es
th ey on ly r ea ct to exter n a l pr essu r es a n d do
n ot develop a n y pr ogr a m m e a im ed a t a ch ievin g sign ifica n t com petitive a dva n ta ges.
On th e oth er h a n d, both a n ticipa tive a n d
in n ova tive com pa n ies sh ou ld con sider th e
en vir on m en t a s a sign ifica n t m a n a ger ia l
topic; to cla r ify th e r ole a ttr ibu ted to en vir on m en ta l issu es better, we h ave a lso to con sider
fa ctor s r ela ted to th e com pa n y’s in ter n a l
con figu r a tion a n d to th e field wh er e it oper a tes. In deed, fir m s w ith a n in n ova tive str a tegic or ien ta tion a n d oper a tin g in a fi eld wh er e
en vir on m en t-r ela ted issu es do n ot h ave a
sign ifica n t r eleva n ce – a s, for in sta n ce, th e
w a tch in du str y – cou ld con sider th e en vir on m en t a s a m a n a ger ia l topic a s well a s fi r m s
w ith a n a n ticipa tive a ttitu de wh en th ey h ave
em ployees w ith h igh “gr een ” com peten ces,
bu t lim ited fi n a n cia l r esou r ces.
F in a lly, envir on m en t-r ela ted va r ia bles ca n
be con sider ed a s str a te gic issu es on ly w ith in
fir m s wh ich h ave a n in n ova tive str a te gic
or ien ta tion ; in deed, su ch a de gr ee of pr ior ity
a ttr ibu ted to th e en vir on m en ta l va r ia ble
r equ ir es m a n a ger s to a dopt con tin u ou s in n ova tion , to esta blish str a te gic a llia n ces a n d
con ver t exter n a l wea k sign a ls r ela ted to th e
ch a n ge of en vir on m en ta l aw a r en ess in to
oppor tu n ities for th e com pa n y.
The re sulting e nviro nme ntal strate gie s
At th is level, we ca n iden tify th r ee envir on m en ta l str a te gies, ea ch on e cor r espon din g to
a specific de gr ee of pr ior ity a ttr ibu ted by th e
com pa n y to “gr een ” issu es. Hen ce, we distin gu ish a m on g a pa ssiv e, rea ctiv e a n d a n in tegra ted en viron m en ta l stra teg y (see F igu r e 5 ),
wh er e:
Figure 5
The ide ntifie d e nviro nme ntal strate gie s
[ 10 ]
• by a pa ssive str a te gy, we r efer to com pa n ies
in tr odu cin g en vir on m en ta l pr ogr a m m es
on ly in r espon se to sign ifi ca n t exter n a l
pr essu r es;
• a ccor din g to a r ea ctive str a te gy, th e com pa n y in tr odu ces a for m a l system a im ed a t
pla n n in g th e best “gr een ” pr ogr a m m es for
r edu cin g its im pa ct on th e sta te of n a tu r a l
r esou r ces r esu ltin g fr om both pr odu cts a n d
pr ocesses;
• by a n in te gr a ted envir on m en ta l str a te gy,
we r efer to com pa n ies wh ich in te gr a te
en vir on m en ta l issu es in to th e over a ll
pr ocess of str a te gy for m a tion a n d a ch ieve a
h igh level of com m itm en t a s r e ga r ds th e
system of a ctivities a n d h u m a n r esou r ces
involved in th e developm en t of th e com pa n y’s en vir on m en ta l per for m a n ce.
Th e developm en t of ea ch en vir on m en ta l
str a te gy depen ds on th e com pa n y’s str a te gic
or ien ta tion , th e com pa n y’s in ter n a l con figu r a tion a n d th e ch a r a cter istics of th e com petitive en vir on m en t wh er e it oper a tes; in pa r ticu la r, th e iden tifica tion of th e la tter fa ctor s
a llow s u s to iden tify th e fea sibility of ea ch
“gr een ” str a te gy.
Som e com bin a tion s of th ese fa ctor s ca n
m a k e a n en vir on m en ta l str a te gy m or e su sta in a ble.
An in te gr a ted str a te gy ca n be m or e effectively developed w ith in com pa n ies wh ich
h ave r eleva n t fin a n cia l r esou r ces, h ave
em ployees w ith a good en vir on m en ta l cu ltu r e
a n d w ith h igh “gr een ” cor e com peten ces,
both fr om a tech n ica l a n d a m a n a ger ia l view poin t. Refer r in g to th e in flu en ce th a t fa ctor s
r ela ted to th e com pa n y’s exter n a l con text
exer t on th e com pa n y’s over a ll pr ocess of
str a te gy for m a tion , we h ave fou n d th a t th e
in tr odu ction of a n in te gr a ted str a te gy is
con sisten t w ith h igh ly dyn a m ic
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
en vir on m en ts; in deed, in con texts ch a r a cter ized, for in sta n ce, by con tin u ou s ch a n ges of
th e tech n ologica l pa tter n s, su ch a s it is
im possible for th e com pa n y to r ea ct in tim e,
th e on ly fea sible beh aviou r is to develop lon gter m -or ien ted eva lu a tion s a n d, h en ce, to
a n ticipa te wea k sign a ls of th e m a r k et.
On th e oth er h a n d, a r ea ctive str a te gy m ay
be a dopted wh en exter n a l sta k eh older s exer t
fr equ en t en vir on m en t-r ela ted pr essu r es; th is
is th e ca se, for in sta n ce, of fir m s oper a tin g in
th e a u tom otive field th a t, ow in g to th e r eleva n t im pa ct on th e sta te of n a tu r a l r esou r ces
a ssocia ted to th e u sa ge of ca r s du r in g th eir
life, a r e often for ced by pu blic in stitu tion s or
by “gr een ” m ovem en ts to im pr ove th e en vir on m en ta l per for m a n ce of th eir pr odu cts.
With r e ga r d to th e con dition s of th e
com pa n y’s in ter n a l con fi gu r a tion th a t en su r e
th e fea sibility of su ch a str a te gy, we h ave to
con sider th a t its a doption is ea sier in con texts ch a r a cter ized by h igh “gr een ” com peten ces a n d a su fficien t ava ila bility of fin a n cia l r esou r ces.
F in a lly, th e im plem en ta tion of a pa ssive
en vir on m en ta l str a te gy ca n be con sider ed a s
a fea sible solu tion , for in sta n ce, in con texts
wh er e exter n a l sta k eh older s do n ot ta k e en vir on m en ta l issu es in to con sider a tion beca u se
of: th e pecu lia r ch a r a cter istics of th e pr odu cts a ch ieved by th e com pa n y – i.e. low en vir on m en ta l im pa ct on th e sta te of n a tu r a l
r esou r ces; or cou n tr y-specific fa ctor s lea din g
execu tives to con sider th e en vir on m en ta l
va r ia ble a s n ot sign ifi ca n t in th e pr ocess of
str a te gy for m a tion .
T h e en viron m en ta l progra m m es. We distin gu ish between differ en t pr ogr a m m es a ccor din g to th e im pa ct a ssocia ted w ith th eir im plem en ta tion ; in pa r ticu la r, we distin gu ish
between system ic in itia tives – i.e. pr ogr a m m es a ffectin g th e wh ole va lu e ch a in of
th e com pa n y, th u s r equ ir in g th e in volvem en t
of a ll th e fir m ’s depa r tm en ts – a n d “loca l”
pr ogr a m m es – i.e. in itia tives th a t a r e im plem en ted a n d a ffect a sin gle or ga n iza tion a l
u n it, th u s pr esen tin g a lim ited im pa ct on th e
cor por a te va lu e ch a in .
Accor din g to th is fr a m ewor k , we con sider
a s system ic in itia tives r ecyclin g-ba sed pr ogr a m m es or in itia tives a im ed a t ca r r yin g ou t
n ew “gr een ” pr odu ct developm en t
pr ogr a m m es sin ce th eir effective im plem en ta tion r equ ir es th e com pa n y to involve both
its or ga n iza tion a l u n its a n d th e wh ole su pply
va lu e ch a in . On th e con tr a r y, pr ogr a m m es,
for in sta n ce, a im ed a t in tr odu cin g n ew
“clea n ” tech n ologies ca n be con sider ed a s
“loca l” in itia tives sin ce th eir in tr odu ction
a ffects th e per for m a n ce of th e pr odu ction
depa r tm en t on ly (N oci, 1995b).
T h e role of th e en viron m en t in th e com pa n y’s
orga n iz a tion . Depen din g on th e existen ce of
specific or ga n iza tion a l u n its dedica ted to th e
en vir on m en ta l issu es, th e com pa n y ca n
defin e differ en t oper a tin g solu tion s for m a n a gin g “gr een ” issu es. Two fa ctor s a ppea r, in
ou r opin ion , sign ifica n t:
1 th e pr esen ce of a depa r tm en t specifica lly
a im ed a t th e m a n a gem en t of en vir on m en ta l issu es; a n d
2 th e power of en vir on m en ta l m a n a ger s
w ith r espect to th e oth er execu tives.
Implementing the identified environmental
strategies
Th e in ten ded en vir on m en ta l str a te gy ca n be
con sider ed a s a fea sible solu tion for th e com pa n y wh en it is con sisten t w ith both th e com petitive en vir on m en t wh er e th e fir m oper a tes
a n d th e ch a r a cter istics of its in ter n a l con fi gu r a tion . N ever th eless, a specific str a te gy con tr ibu tes to th e com pa n y’s econ om ic va lu e
on ly wh en it is effectively im plem en ted, too;
in th is sen se, it is cr itica l to a n a lyse th e m a n a ger ia l a n d in fr a str u ctu r a l con dition s th a t
a llow th e com pa n y to im plem en t ea ch en vir on m en ta l str a te gy su ccessfu lly. To th is en d,
we in tr odu ce va r ia bles th a t poin t ou t th e:
• oper a tin g envir on m en ta l pr ogr a m m es
en su r in g th e com pa n y to a ch ieve th e
pla n n ed r esu lts;
• r ole of th e en vir on m en t w ith in th e com pa n y’s over a ll or ga n iza tion ;
• in fr a str u ctu r a l r esou r ces dedica ted to th e
m a n a gem en t of en vir on m en ta l issu es; a n d
• th e decision -m a k in g pr ocess r ela ted to
“gr een ” pr ogr a m m es.
In pa r ticu la r, it is cr itica l to a n a lyse wh eth er
th ey a r e seen m er ely a s th e lea der s of a gr ou p
of tech n icia n s or if th ey a r e con sider ed to be
th e m a n a ger s of on e of th e m ost im por ta n t
depa r tm en ts of th e com pa n y.
T h e in fra stru ctu ra l resou rces. Th e cor por a te
in fr a str u ctu r a l r esou r ces r epr esen t th e
en gin e of th e a ctivities ca r r ied ou t by a com pa n y; in r ela tion to th e effective im plem en ta tion of “gr een ” in itia tives th e follow in g fa ctor s pr esen t a cr u cia l r ole:
• en viron m en ta l com peten ces, sin ce th e com pa n y n eeds differ en t types of com peten ces
depen din g on th e type of en vir on m en ta l
pr ogr a m m es: to th is en d, we distin gu ish
a m on g ju r idica l, tech n ica l-scien tific, com m u n ica tion -r ela ted a n d m a n a ger ia l com peten ces (ASAM, 1992); a n d
• en viron m en ta l cu ltu re, i.e. th e set of va lu es
a n d n or m s descr ibin g h ow th e com pa n y
per ceives th e en vir on m en ta l va r ia ble.
T h e d ecision -m a k in g process. Th e pr ocedu r e
a ccor din g to wh ich a com pa n y selects th e
m ost pr om isin g option a m on g a set of
[ 11 ]
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
poten tia l en vir on m en ta l a lter n a tives depen ds
on a gr ea t n u m ber of fa ctor s u su a lly r ela ted
to th e lea der sh ip style of th e top m a n a gem en t, th e com petitive envir on m en t wh er e th e
com pa n y oper a tes, its size, a n d th e a dopted
en vir on m en ta l str a te gy. However, to descr ibe
h ow th e decision -m a k in g pr ocess m u st be
ca r r ied ou t to su ppor t ea ch en vir on m en ta l
str a te gy, we n eed to ch a r a cter ize th e level of
com m itm en t of th e top m a n a gem en t in decision a l pr ocedu r e a n d th e level of decision a l
decen tr a liza tion a dopted by th e com pa n y in
r ela tion to en vir on m en ta l issu es.
Accor din g to th e a bove fa ctor s per m ittin g
u s to a n a lyse in m or e deta il th e im plem en ta tion ph a se of ea ch en vir on m en ta l str a te gy, we
descr ibe in th e follow in g u n der wh ich con dition s ea ch “gr een ” str a te gic beh aviou r ca n be
ca r r ied ou t m or e effectively.
The imple me ntatio n o f a passive
e nviro nme ntal strate gy
By th e a doption of a pa ssive “gr een ” str a te gy,
m a n a ger s a im a t developin g on ly th e
in itia tives th a t m in im ize th e com pa n y’s en vir on m en t-r ela ted expen ditu r es.
Su ch in itia tives a r e u su a lly ca r r ied ou t
w ith ou t a n y for m a l pla n n in g pr ocedu r e a n d,
in th is sen se, th eir im plem en ta tion u su a lly
cor r espon ds to r equ ir em en ts of exter n a l
sta k eh older s (see Ta ble I).
Accor din g to th ese issu es, it clea r ly
em er ges th a t m ost of th e pr ogr a m m es a r e
developed w ith in th e pr odu ction depa r tm en t
a n d, in pa r ticu la r, ca n be con sider ed a s en dof-pipe solu tion s – th is is th e ca se, for
in sta n ce, of som e ch em ica l com pa n ies wh ich
h ave in tr odu ced in th e la st few yea r s n ew
equ ipm en t for im pr ovin g th e pu r ifica tion of
a ir em ission s a n d for r edu cin g th e qu a n tity of
solid w a stes. Ow in g to th e lim ited im por ta n ce
a ttr ibu ted by m a n a ger s to en vir on m en ta l
va r ia bles, n o specific fu n ction is in tr odu ced
to m a n a ge “gr een ” issu es. Mor eover, ta k in g
in to a ccou n t th a t th e u n iqu e en vir on m en ta l
objective is to con for m th e com pa n y’s en vir on m en ta l per for m a n ce to pr escr iption s of
r e gu la tor s, ju r idica l com peten ces r epr esen t
th e k ey in fr a str u ctu r a l r esou r ces for su ppor tin g th e im plem en ta tion of a pa ssive str a te gy;
in m ost ca ses com m u n ica tion sk ills a r e
n eeded wh en th e fir m ’s a ction is du e to pr essu r e fr om th e pu blic. F in a lly, th e decision m a k in g pr ocess is u su a lly ca r r ied ou t by
decen tr a lizin g th e r espon sibility of th e decision m a k er s’ pr ocedu r e to th e tea m in volved
in th e specific en vir on m en t-r ela ted
pr ogr a m m e.
Table I
Manage rial c o nditio ns fo r the e ffe c tive imple me ntatio n o f a passive “ gre e n” strate gy
Passive environmental strategy
Environment-related objective
Environmental strategy
Environmental programmes
Corporate value chain
Systemic initiatives
Environmental department
Infrastructural resources
Environmental competences
Environmental culture
Decision-making process
[ 12 ]
Minimize the c ompany’ s environment-related expenditures
No formal planning proc edures
Produc tion
Produc tion proc ess
End-of-pipe solutions
Energetic and water revision and simplific ation of produc tion proc ess
Changes related to requirements of external stakeholders
Produc t
Reduc tion or elimination of toxic substanc es
Sales
Possible sales of sc raps
External c ommunic ation
Open plants
Public debates
Meetings with students
Logistic s
Possible reduc tion of pac kaging expenditures
Possible c hanges related to requirements of external stakeholders
Not developed
Not required
Juridic al and c ommunic ation-related
Not required
Dec entralization of the dec isional proc edure to the team involved in the
spec ific environment-related programme
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
The imple me ntatio n o f a re ac tive
e nviro nme ntal strate gy
Accor din g to th is str a te gy th e m a n a gem en t of
en vir on m en ta l issu es is con sider ed a s a n
im por ta n t topic for m a n a ger s; in pa r ticu la r,
en vir on m en ta l decision s a r e system a tica lly
in clu ded in th e over a ll pla n n in g pr ocedu r e
(see Ta ble II).
Wit h in t h is st r a t e gic b eh av iou r, m a n a ger s
a im a t im p lem en t in g en v ir on m en t a l p r ogr a m m es b ot h in t h e p r od u ct ion p r ocess a n d
in t h e R&D d e p a r t m en t a im ed a t op t im izin g
t h e com p a n y ’s r esp on se t o ext er n a l
p r essu r es; in d eed , Pola r oid , for in st a n ce,
by a d op t in g t h e p r ogr a m m e ca lled “Toxic
Use a n d Wa st e Red u ct ion ”, h a s in t r od u ced
a com p lex in it ia t ive, a im ed a t gr ea t ly
r ed u cin g t h e u se of ch em ica l su b st a n ces
a n d t h e p r od u ct ion of solid w a st es, t h a t is
con sist en t w it h t h e d evelop m en t of a
r ea ct ive en v ir on m en t a l st r a t e gy. Sim ila r ly,
Be gin Say h a s in t r od u ced com p lex
p r ogr a m m es for t h e r ecyclin g of w a t er in it s
su ga r r efin er y.
Table II
Manage rial c o nditio ns fo r the e ffe c tive imple me ntatio n o f a re ac tive “ gre e n” strate gy
Reactive environmental strategy
Environment-related objective
Environmental strategy
Environmental programmes
Corporate value chain
Systemic initiatives
Environmental department
Infrastructural resources
Environmental competences
Environmental culture
Decision-making process
Develop initiatives optimizing the response to external pressures
Formal planning proc edures
Produc tion and R&D
Produc tion proc ess
End-of-pipe solutions
Clean tec hnologies
Reuse of industrial waters and energetic rec overy
Development of alternative energetic systems
Changes related to requirements of external stakeholders;
Produc t
DFD
Development of new produc ts in order to reduc e or eliminate toxic
substanc es
Reduc tion of energetic c onsumption
Sales
Possible sales of sc raps
External c ommunic ation
Open plants
Public debates and press-c onferenc es
Meetings with students
Environmental advertising
Post-sales
Produc ts rec overy
Extended assistanc e to the c ustomers
Logistic s
Possible reduc tion of pac kaging expenditures
Possible c hanges related to requirements of external stakeholders
Regulators
Competitors
Suppliers
Customers
Other ac tors
Required
Juridic al
Tec hnic al-sc ientific
Communic ation-related
Managerial
Not required
In c ase of initiatives c harac terized by low c omplexity, dec isional
proc edures are c arried out at the line-managers’ level; otherwise the
selec tion proc edure must be developed at the top management’ s level
[ 13 ]
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
Sin ce th e developm en t of a r ea ctive “gr een ”
str a te gy r equ ir es th e com pa n y to ch eck con tin u ou sly, fr om a n en vir on m en ta l view poin t,
sign a ls follow in g fr om th e m a r k et, th e pr esen ce of a n or ga n iza tion a l depa r tm en t dedica ted to th e m a n a gem en t of en vir on m en ta l
issu es is n ecessa r y. Mor eover, r efer r in g to th e
com pa n y’s in fr a str u ctu r a l r esou r ces, we h ave
to con sider th a t th e r eleva n ce a ttr ibu ted to
th e en vir on m en ta l va r ia ble r equ ir es th e
com pa n y to h ave sign ifica n t en vir on m en tr ela ted com p
programmes and plans within Italian industries
Giovanni Azzone
De partme nt o f Ec o no mic s
Raffaella Bianchi
De partme nt o f Ec o no mic s
Renato M auri
De partme nt o f Ec o no mic s
Giuliano Noci
De partme nt o f Ec o no mic s
Over the last decades, public
opinion, governments and
regulators have forced executives of both large and small
corporations to improve their
environmental performance
and, for this reason, to consider the environment as a
signifi cant competitive priority. The objective of the paper
is twofold, to: design an
effective taxonomy of operating environmental strategies;
and develop an empirical
investigation aimed at testing
whether the identifi ed environmental strategies correspond to real strategic behaviours of companies.
The authors wish to thank
managers of the interviewed
companies. Financial support of “ Impatto dei problemi di compatibilità ambientale sulle tecniche di
valutazione e controllo degli
investimenti in nuove tecnologie” by C.N.R. Comitato
and of The Chamber of
Commerce of Milano is
gratefully acknowledged.
The paper is due to the joint
work of the authors. However, Giovanni Azzone wrote
the introduction and the
fi rst section; Raffaella
Bianchi wrote the second
section, Renato Mauri wrote
the fi nal section and Giuliano Noci wrote the penultimate section.
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [ 1997] 4 –1 9
© MCB Unive rsity Pre ss
[ ISSN 0956-6163]
[4 ]
and Pro duc tio n, Po lite c nic o di Milano , Italy
and Pro duc tio n, Po lite c nic o di Milano , Italy
and Pro duc tio n, Po lite c nic o di Milano , Italy
and Pro duc tio n, Po lite c nic o di Milano , Italy
Introduction
Over th e la st deca des, en vir on m en ta l issu es
h ave r eceived a gr ow in g con cer n fr om top
m a n a ger s. E xter n a l pr essu r es follow in g fr om
pu blic opin ion , r e gu la tor s, gover n m en ts,
“gr een ” m ovem en ts a n d fin a n cia l en ter pr ises
– su ch a s ba n k s a n d in su r a n ce com pa n ies –
a n d in ter n a l dr iver s r ela ted to th e ch a n ge of
em ployees’ envir on m en ta l aw a r en ess h ave
led execu tives to con sider th e en vir on m en ta l
va r ia ble a s a sign ifica n t com petitive pr ior ity
a n d, h en ce, to in clu de it in to th e over a ll
pr ocess of str a te gy for m a tion (Azzon e a n d
Ber telè, 1994; N oci, 1995a ).
Ow in g to th e in cr ea sin g im por ta n ce a ttr ibu ted by m a n a ger s to en vir on m en t-r ela ted
issu es, m a n y a u th or s h ave design ed n ew
m odels a im ed a t iden tifyin g ba sic en vir on m en ta l str a te gies (Ha ss, 1994). Un for tu n a tely,
m ost of sta te-of-th e-a r t a ppr oa ch es defi n e
“gen er ic” en vir on m en ta l str a te gies sim ply by
a n a lysin g th e r ela tive im por ta n ce a ttr ibu ted
by pla n n er s to en vir on m en ta l per for m a n ce
w ith r espect to th e oth er com petitive pr ior ities (i.e. qu a lity, tim e, cost, fl exibility, etc.),
wh ile n on e of th em iden tifies th e oper a tin g
con dition s th a t a llow th e fir m to im plem en t
th e in ten ded str a te gy effectively.
To over com e th ese lim its, th e objective of
th e pa per is twofold, to:
1 defin e a ta xon om y of oper a tin g en vir on m en ta l str a te gies; a n d
2 develop a n em pir ica l in vestiga tion w ith in
sm a ll a n d la r ge Ita lia n com pa n ies a im ed
a t ch eck in g th e con sisten cy between th e
su ggested m odel a n d th e cu r r en t beh aviou r s of fir m s.
Th e pa per is divided in to fou r m a jor section s.
Th e fir st section dea ls w ith th e a n a lysis of th e
pr ocess of en vir on m en ta l str a te gy for m a tion .
Th e n ext section discu sses m a jor sta te-of-th ea r t a ppr oa ch es. Th e pen u ltim a te section
pr esen ts th e in te gr a ted fr a m ewor k su ggested
to cla ssify fea sible oper a tin g en vir on m en ta l
str a te gies. F in a lly, th e la st section look s a t th e
r esu lts of th e em pir ica l in vestiga tion .
The process of “green” strategy
formation: an integrated framework
With in pr ofit or ga n iza tion s, en vir on m en ta l
str a te gies ca n be con sider ed a s a set of gu idelin es th a t th e fir m s defin e to r espon d to cu r r en t in ter n a l a n d/ or exter n a l pr essu r es
a n d/ or to a n ticipa te fu tu r e evolu tion of th e
com petitive envir on m en t, of r e gu la tor s a n d
of th e cu stom er s’ n eeds.
As r e ga r ds th e pr ocess of str a te gy for m a tion itself, we wou ld say th a t th e in ten ded
en vir on m en ta l str a te gies of a fir m r epr esen t
th e syn th esis of a com plex pr ocess in wh ich
m a n y fa ctor s exer t th eir in fl u en ce. In F igu r e
1, we r epr esen t th e “logica l” steps of th e
pr ocess.
Sta r tin g fr om th e a n a lysis of th e exter n a l
con text, ea ch fir m – a ccor din g to its ow n
“str a te gic or ien ta tion ” – decides wh eth er to
in clu de en vir on m en ta l fa ctor s in to th e over a ll pr ocess of str a te gy for m a tion . At th is
level, th e com pa n y iden tifi es th e de gr ee of
pr ior ity wh ich m u st be a ttr ibu ted to en vir on m en t-r ela ted va r ia bles w ith r espect to th e
oth er com petitive pr ior ities. Th e com pa n y’s
“str a te gic or ien ta tion ” depen ds on a n u m ber
of fa ctor s th a t a r e closely r ela ted to th e follow in g:
• Its str a te gic a ttitu de, descr ibin g th e gen er a l
per spective a ccor din g to wh ich th e com pa n y position s itself fr om a com petitive
sta n dpoin t – i.e. wh eth er it u su a lly a im s a t
a n ticipa tin g com petitor s to a ssu m e th e
lea der sh ip or it develops a ction s wh ich a r e
typica l of follower s a n d, h en ce, im plem en ts
sh or t-ter m -or ien ted pr ogr a m m es.
• Th e com pa n y’s in ter n a l con figu r a tion ;
m or e pr ecisely, fa ctor s r ela ted to th e cor por a te en vir on m en ta l cu ltu r e, th e ava ila ble
fin a n cia l r esou r ces a n d th e type of em ployees’ “gr een ” com peten ces exer t a gr ea t
in fl u en ce in deter m in in g th e com pa n y’s
over a ll str a te gic or ien ta tion . Su ch item s
br in g in to eviden ce th e m a in con str a in ts
a n d/ or oppor tu n ities for th e com pa n y in
r ela tion to th e im plem en ta tion of th e differ en t en vir on m en ta l str a te gies: in deed, a
fir m th a t, for in sta n ce, h a s a lim ited
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Figure 1
The pro c e ss o f “ gre e n” strate gy fo rmatio n
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
ava ila bility of fin a n cia l r esou r ces ca n n ot
im plem en t a “gr een ” str a te gy a im ed a t
a n ticipa tin g com petitor s a n d, h en ce, a t
a ch ievin g a n en vir on m en t-ba sed com petitive a dva n ta ge sin ce its a doption u su a lly
r equ ir es sign ifica n t in vestm en ts r ela ted,
for exa m ple, to th e in tr odu ction of n ew
pr odu ct developm en t tech n iqu es (design for
r ecyclin g or design for disa ssem blin g) or of
clea n tech n ologies. E qu a lly, it is a lm ost
im possible to develop com plex en vir on m en ta l pr ogr a m m es – a ffectin g th e wh ole va lu e
ch a in of th e com pa n y – w ith in fir m s wh ich
pr esen t lim ited “gr een ” com peten ces.
Accor din g to its str a te gic or ien ta tion , th e
com pa n y defi n es th e de gr ee of pr ior ity th a t
m u st be a ttr ibu ted to en vir on m en t-r ela ted
issu es. To th is en d, we poin t ou t th a t com pa n ies oper a tin g in th e sa m e com petitive
en vir on m en t a n d u n der th e pr essu r es of
th e sa m e m a r k et for ces cou ld decide to
a ttr ibu te a differ en t pr ior ity to en vir on m en ta l issu es ju st in r ela tion to th eir str a te gic
or ien ta tion .
Th e fin a l step of th e pr ocess of en vir on m en ta l
str a te gy for m a tion dea ls w ith oper a tion a lizin g th e de gr ee of pr ior ity a ttr ibu ted by th e
top m a n a gem en t to th e en vir on m en t in ter m s
of th e in ten ded en vir on m en ta l str a te gy. Th is
m ea n s th a t, a ccor din g to its str a te gic or ien ta tion , th e com pa n y iden tifi es pla n s, oper a tin g
investm en ts, th e level of in ter n a l com m itm en t a n d a ctivities of th e cor por a te va lu e
ch a in th a t m u st be in volved for th e effective
im plem en ta tion of th e selected str a te gy.
Accor din g to th e a bove fr a m ewor k , it
em er ges th a t a n effective m odel a im ed a t
su ggestin g a ta xon om y of en vir on m en ta l
str a te gies m u st br in g to ligh t both ch a r a cter istics pecu lia r to ea ch type of en vir on m en ta l
str a te gy a n d th e type of “gr een ” m a n a gem en t
n eeded for its im plem en ta tion . In pa r ticu la r,
th e a ch ievem en t of su ch objectives r equ ir es
th e in tr odu ction of va r ia bles – gr ou ped in to
th r ee m a in ca te gor ies – descr ibin g:
1 th e com pa n y’s exter n a l con text;
2 its str a te gic or ien ta tion ;
3 oper a tin g solu tion s for th e im plem en ta tion of ea ch en vir on m en ta l str a te gy.
[5 ]
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
State-of-the-art models
Sta te-of-th e-a r t liter a tu r e su ggests m a n y
m odels for th e iden tifica tion of fea sible en vir on m en ta l str a te gies: we h ave r esea r ch stu dies developed by a ca dem ics, a r ticles th a t
a n a lyse ca se stu dies, r epor ts pu blish ed by
politica l in stitu tion s to a ddr ess th e
com pa n y’s en vir on m en ta l effor ts of th e com pa n ies a n d, fi n a lly, m odels pr oposed by con su lta n ts (Weldfor d a n d Gou ldson , 1993).
In ou r opin ion , we ca n gr ou p th is w ide set
of m odels in to two m a in ca te gor ies:
1 Evolu tiv e m od els a ccor din g to wh ich distin ct en vir on m en ta l str a te gies a r e iden tified a s a specifi c sta n ce of bu sin ess m a n a gem en t a m on g a con tin u u m of fea sible
en vir on m en ta l beh aviou r s. Th e two
extr em es of su ch a sca le a r e u su a lly
r ela ted to a pa ssive beh aviou r – i.e. th e
str a te gy of th e fir m wh ich does n ot con sider th e en vir on m en t va r ia ble – a n d a n
“eth ica l” str a te gy of a com pa n y wh ich
con sider s th e r edu ction of its im pa ct on
th e sta te of th e n a tu r a l r esou r ces a s th e
m ost im por ta n t com petitive pr ior ity. In
gen er a l ter m s, th e in tr odu ction of su ch a
sca le u n der sta n ds th e con cept of a
dyn a m ic pa tter n of en vir on m en ta l str a tegies.
2 T a x on om ic m od els, wh er e som e “sta tic”
en vir on m en ta l str a te gies a r e iden tified,
wh ile n o evolu tive pa tter n is su ggested,
n or pa r a m eter s a llow in g th e com pa n y to
ch a n ge th e type of im plem en ted str a te gy
a r e descr ibed or even ta k en in to a ccou n t.
Th e efficien cy of su ch m odels ca n be eva lu a ted by r efer r in g to th e in te gr a ted fr a m ewor k
pr eviou sly iden tified; by a n a lysin g va r ia bles
th a t a r e in clu ded in ea ch a ppr oa ch , we ca n
poin t ou t wh eth er a n d to wh a t exten t ea ch
a ppr oa ch m a tch es th e objective of iden tifyin g
oper a tin g envir on m en ta l str a te gies.
Evolutive models
Ma n y sta te-of-th e-a r t a ppr oa ch es m ay be
con sider ed a s evolu tive m odels (Azzon e a n d
Ber telè, 1994; Mü ller a n d Koech lin , 1992;
Room e, 1992). F r om a gen er a l view poin t, su ch
a ppr oa ch es iden tify a ta xon om y of en vir on m en ta l str a te gies th a t, in som e ca ses, is n ot
con sisten t w ith th e cu r r en t com petitive en vir on m en t. In pa r ticu la r, th ey a ssu m e th a t, a t
two extr em es, com pa n ies ca n a dopt pa ssive or
eth ica l str a te gies: in ou r opin ion , th e im plem en ta tion of th e for m er type of str a te gy
sh ou ld lea d th e fir m to a ba n don th e m a r k et
du e to th e gr ow in g con cer n of pu blic opin ion
a n d of r u le-m a k in g boa r ds for en vir on m en ta l
issu es, wh ile th e a doption of a n “eth ica l”
[6 ]
str a te gic beh aviou r is n ot con sisten t w ith th e
econ om ica l objectives of pr ofit or ga n iza tion s.
Refer r in g, for in sta n ce, to th e well-k n ow n
a ppr oa ch su ggested by Room e (1992), th e
a bove iden tified lim its sta n d ou t clea r ly;
in deed, th e a u th or distin gu ish es a m on g
1 a n on -com plia n ce-ba sed str a te gy;
2 a com plia n ce-ba sed str a te gy a im ed a t
r ea ctin g a t exter n a l pr essu r es;
3 a str a te gy a im ed a t com m er cia l a n d en vir on m en ta l excellen ce;
4 a str a te gy “lea din g edge”, th u s iden tifyin g
two br oa d str a te gic option s – i.e. str a tegies 1 a n d 4 – th a t a r e n ot su sta in a ble in
th e lon g ter m .
Mor eover, w ith r espect to th e in te gr a ted
fr a m ewor k , it does n ot develop a com plete
a n a lysis of a ll th e r eleva n t item s a ffectin g th e
pr ocess of en vir on m en ta l str a te gy for m a tion ;
in pa r ticu la r, it does n ot:
• iden tify str a te gies bu t differ en t de gr ees of
pr ior ity th a t cou ld be a ttr ibu ted to “gr een ”
issu es by th e com pa n ies. In th is sen se, to
defin e a n effective ta xon om y of en vir on m en ta l str a tegies, we n eed to develop a fu r th er step a im ed a t tr a n sla tin g su ch degr ee of
pr ior ities in to oper atin g str a tegies;
• con sider h ow m a n a ger s ca n im plem en t th e
iden tifi ed en vir on m en ta l beh aviou r s sin ce
it poin ts ou t m a in in ter n a l a ctor s/ depa r tm en ts to be in volved for th e effective im plem en ta tion of differ en t en vir on m en ta l pr ogr a m m es bu t it does n ot descr ibe h ow su ch
in itia tives ca n be effectively ca r r ied ou t;
• en ligh ten a n y em pir ica l in vestiga tion
a im ed a t ver ifyin g wh eth er a n d in wh ich
field th e iden tified str a te gic beh aviou r ca n
be fou n d.
Sim ila r pr oblem s em er ge by a n a lysin g oth er
m odels su ch a s th e cla ssifica tion su ggested by
Mü ller a n d Koech lin (1992). Th e a u th or s su ggest a lm ost th e sa m e ta xon om y w ith r espect
to th e wor k of Room e; in pa r ticu la r, th ey
discr im in a te a m on g:
• in a ctive fir m s;
• r ea ctive com pa n ies;
• pr oa ctive cor por a tion s; a n d
• h yper a ctive com pa n ies pr esen tin g a n eth ica l objective a ccor din g to wh ich th e cor por a te m ission is to m in im ize th e com pa n y’s
en vir on m en ta l im pa ct on th e sta te of n a tu r a l r esou r ces.
With r espect to th e in te gr a ted fr a m ewor k ,
su ch a n a ppr oa ch does n ot iden tify u n der
wh ich con dition s ea ch en vir on m en ta l str a te gy is m or e effective: m or e pr ecisely, it does
n ot a n a lyse h ow th e com pa n y’s in ter n a l con figu r a tion – expr essed in ter m s of in fr a str u ctu r a l a n d tech n ologica l r esou r ces – ca n su ppor t th e im plem en ta tion of ea ch en vir on m en ta l str a te gy.
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Hen ce, even if we h ave ta k en a lim ited set of
m odels in to con sider a tion , it clea r ly em er ges
th a t evolu tive a ppr oa ch es do n ot effectively
br in g to ligh t m a n a ger ia l a n d oper a tin g con dition s th a t m a k e th e im plem en ta tion of
differ en t “gr een ” str a te gies fea sible.
pr ogr a m m es a im ed a t developin g en d-of-pipe
solu tion s, a n in n ova tive str a te gy a n d a n ich e
str a te gy, bu t it a ch ieves a low com pleten ess
sin ce it on ly poin ts ou t gen er ic str a te gies th a t
m u st be n ecessa r ily ch a r a cter ized in m or e
deta il.
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
Taxonomic models
With r espect to evolu tive m odels, ta xon om ic
a ppr oa ch es su ggest a “sta tic” descr iption of
th e en vir on m en ta l str a te gies, sin ce th ey
poin t ou t m a in ch a r a cter istics of differ en t
en vir on m en t-r ela ted str a te gies w ith ou t su ggestin g a n y dyn a m ic pa tter n .
Gen er a lly spea k in g, th ese m odels ca n ca u se
pr oblem s wh en u sed to iden tify th e en vir on m en ta l str a te gy of a n existin g fir m . In deed,
we h ave to con sider th a t m ost of th e m odels
w ith in th is cla ss distin gu ish between differ en t str a te gies by iden tifyin g th e en vir on m en ta l pr ogr a m m es th a t a r e con sisten t w ith ea ch
en vir on m en ta l beh aviou r : bu t th e pr oblem is
th a t th e sa m e pr ogr a m m e ca n be ca r r ied ou t
a ccor din g to differ en t str a te gies, th u s m a k in g
it n on -ch a r a cter istic of a u n iqu e beh aviou r.
With r espect to th e in te gr a ted fr a m ewor k ,
su ch m odels pa r tia lly ta k e va r ia bles r ela ted
to th e exter n a l con text in to a ccou n t; w ith
r e ga r d to th e oth er sign ifica n t fa ctor s, th ey
la ck a system a tic fr a m ewor k wh ich a llow s u s
to defin e both th e con text wh er e ea ch str a te gy a ppea r s m or e su ita ble a n d m a n a ger ia l
in fr a str u ctu r a l r esou r ces n eeded for th e
effective im plem en ta tion of ea ch str a te gy.
To a n a lyse in m or e deta il th e ch a r a cter istics pecu lia r to th is cla ss of m odels, we cou ld
r efer to th e wor k of Room e; fr om th e fr a m ewor k of Ste ger (1993), th r ee m a in types of
gen er ic str a te gies a r e der ived: a defen sive
str a te gy a ccor din g to wh ich th e fir m s a im a t
com plyin g w ith pr escr iption s of r e gu la tor s;
a n offen sive str a te gy wh ose m a in objective is
th e a ch ievem en t of pr odu cts w ith h igh er
en vir on m en ta l per for m a n ce w ith r espect to
com petitor s; a n d, a n in n ova tive str a te gy,
a ccor din g to wh ich th e en vir on m en ta l va r ia ble plays th e sa m e r ole a s th e oth er com petitive pr ior ities in th e over a ll pr ocess of str a te gy for m a tion . Th is m odel does n ot con sider
th e com pa n y’s str a te gic or ien ta tion sin ce it
iden tifies str a te gies wh ich a r e con sider ed a s
th e on ly fea sible a lter n a tive w ith in a specifi c
exter n a l con text. At th e sa m e tim e, wh en it
a im s a t defin in g con dition s for th e effective
im plem en ta tion of ea ch str a te gy, it ta k es on ly
pr ogr a m m es in h er en t in th e com pa n y’s oper a tion s in to con sider a tion .
Refer r in g to oth er a ppr oa ch es su ch a s th e
ta xon om y su ggested by Sch ot (1992), we ca n
r evea l a lm ost th e sa m e lim its: th is a ppr oa ch ,
in pa r ticu la r, iden tifies th r ee en vir on m en ta l
str a te gies, i.e. a depen den t str a te gy a ccor din g
to wh ich a com pa n y m a in ly im plem en ts
Comparing the approaches
Th e a n a lysis of m a in sta te-of-th e-a r t m odels
a llow s u s to iden tify com m on fea tu r es th a t
m u st be n ecessa r ily in clu ded in a m odel
a im ed a t ch a r a cter izin g th e cor por a te en vir on m en ta l str a te gies a n d m a in lim its th a t
m u st be exceeded to a ch ieve sign ifica n t
r esu lts.
Com pa r in g th e va r ia bles we m et in th e
a bove m odels w ith th ose we in tr odu ced in th e
con ceptu a l m odel, we con clu de th a t, wh ile
n ot a ll ta xon om ies ta k e in to a ccou n t th e th r ee
va r ia bles a t th e sa m e tim e, a ll th e sa m e, th e
fea tu r es we poin ted ou t a r e r e ga r ded a s cr itica l in th e m a k in g of a n en vir on m en ta l str a te gy; h en ce, th is becom es a n im plicit va lida tion of ou r m odel a n d of its bein g exh a u stive
in poin tin g ou t th e deter m in a n t fea tu r e of a n
en vir on m en ta l str a te gy.
A contingency model
To defin e oper a tin g en vir on m en ta l str a te gies,
we n eed to con sider a s a wh ole, fa ctor s th a t
in fl u en ce th e pr ocess of en vir on m en ta l str a te gy for m a tion . In pa r ticu la r, we develop a n
a n a lysis a r ticu la ted a t two differ en t levels:
fir st, we descr ibe th e pr oposed ta xon om y of
en vir on m en ta l str a te gies a n d m a in deter m in a n ts th a t m a k e su sta in a ble ea ch of th em ;
secon d, we discu ss h ow to im plem en t differ en t “gr een ” str a te gic option s.
Identifying operating environmental
strategies
Accor din g to th e com pa n y’s gen er a l str a te gic
or ien ta tion a n d m a in oppor tu n ities a n d
th r ea ts follow in g fr om th e com petitive en vir on m en t, str a te gies tr a n sla te th e de gr ee of
pr ior ity a ttr ibu ted by th e com pa n y to en vir on m en ta l issu es in ter m s of pla n s a n d pr ogr a m m es (see F igu r e 1).
To iden tify a n effective ta xon om y of en vir on m en ta l str a te gies, we h ave in tr odu ced
th r ee cla sses of va r ia bles th a t r espectively
distin gu ish th e:
1 m a in ch a r a cter istics of th e exter n a l con text wh er e th e fi r m oper a tes;
2 fir m ’s in ter n a l con figu r a tion ;
3 com pa n y’s gen er a l str a te gic or ien ta tion .
Th e fa ctor descr ibin g th e cor por a te str a te gic
or ien ta tion m u st be in clu ded in th e ta xon om y
to discr im in a te pr ecisely a m on g differ en t
de gr ees of pr ior ity th a t ca n be a ttr ibu ted to
[7 ]
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
th e en vir on m en ta l va r ia ble w ith r espect to
th e oth er com petitive pr ior ities, wh ile th e
in tr odu ction of item s descr ibin g th e con text
in wh ich th e fir m wor k s a n d its in ter n a l con figu r a tion a llow s u s both to a n a lyse u n der
wh ich con dition s ea ch str a te gy r epr esen ts a
su sta in a ble option a n d to ch a r a cter ize th e
deter m in a n ts of ea ch str a te gic a ttitu de.
T h e ex ter n a l con tex t. Th e iden tifica tion of
m a in fea tu r es ch a r a cter izin g th e com pa n y’s
exter n a l con text r epr esen ts a cr u cia l step in
th e defin ition of th e ta xon om y sin ce str a tegies ca n be con sider ed a s a r espon se to pr essu r es r esu ltin g fr om m a in exter n a l a ctor s or
a s a m a n a ger ia l tool su ppor tin g execu tives in
th e a n ticipa tion of fu tu r e m a r k et r equ ir em en ts. To th is en d, a com pa n y h a s to defi n e
r ela tion sh ips w ith a w ide set of sta k eh older s
– su ch a s r e gu la tor s, cu stom er s, su pplier s,
ba n k s, in su r a n ce com pa n ies, gover n m en ts,
etc. – th a t, in som e ca ses, for ce th e com pa n y
to a dopt specific en vir on m en ta l a ction s.
Hen ce, a ccor din g to th ese issu es, it em er ges
th a t a n effective ch a r a cter iza tion of th e exter n a l con text m u st ta k e in to a ccou n t th e deter m in a n ts of exter n a l pr essu r es in ter m s of
th eir exten t a n d fr equ en cy (see F igu r e 2). Th e
in tr odu ction of th e for m er fa ctor a llow s u s to
iden tify th e depth of m a r k et r equ ir em en ts
a n d, in pa r ticu la r, to a n a lyse wh eth er th ey
r equ ir e a n ew pa r a digm of en vir on m en ta l
m a n a gem en t, wh ile th e defi n ition of th e la tter item is a im ed a t descr ibin g wh eth er pr essu r es of th e com pa n y’s sta k eh older s a r e occa sion a l or, on th e con tr a r y, a r e con tin u a l a n d,
for th is r ea son , n ecessa r ily lea d th e fi r m to
con sider en vir on m en ta l issu es a s a sign ifica n t m a n a ger ia l topic.
T h e in ter n a l con fi gu ra tion . At th is level, we
a im to descr ibe fa ctor s wh ich a r e r ela ted to
th e fir m ’s in ter n a l con fi gu r a tion a n d wh ich
a ffect th e pr ocess of en vir on m en ta l str a te gy
for m a tion ; in th is sen se, ou r con cer n dea ls
w ith iden tifyin g th e va r ia bles th a t cou ld lea d
th e com pa n y’s “str a te gic a ttitu de” tow a r ds
th e en vir on m en ta l va r ia ble. (See “Im plem en tin g th e iden tified en vir on m en ta l str a te gies”
for th e a n a lysis of th e m a in m a n a ger ia l con dition s a n d th e type of h u m a n a n d tech n ologica l r esou r ces th a t a r e n ecessa r y for th e effective im plem en ta tion of differ en t en vir on m en ta l str a te gies.)
Figure 2
A c harac te rizatio n o f e xte rnal pre ssure s
[8 ]
To su ppor t ou r a im s, we distin gu ish a m on g
th r ee k ey fa ctor s r espectively poin tin g ou t:
1 th e com pa n y’s en vir on m en ta l cu ltu r e;
2 th e ava ila bility of fi n a n cia l r esou r ces; a n d
3 th e em ployees’ “gr een ” com peten ces.
In deed, th e com pa n y’s en vir on m en ta l cu ltu r e
r epr esen ts on e of th e m ost im por ta n t deter m in a n ts in th e defin ition of th e en vir on m en ta l str a te gies: it depen ds on th e com pa n y’s
h istor y, th e fi elds wh er e it oper a tes a n d th e
cou n tr y in wh ich it h a s th e h ea dqu a r ter s or
its pla n ts. Hen ce, th e in tr odu ction of su ch a
va r ia ble a llow s u s to iden tify th e level of
en vir on m en ta l aw a r en ess of th e com pa n y’s
em ployees a n d, in th is sen se, to a n a lyse h ow
it w ill m a n a ge th e en vir on m en ta l va r ia ble
a n d h ow it w ill r ea ct to exter n a l pr essu r es.
On th e oth er h a n d, we n eed to in tr odu ce a
fa ctor poin tin g ou t th e ava ila bility of fi n a n cia l r esou r ces sin ce com pa n ies, even th ose
ch a r a cter ized by th e sa m e en vir on m en ta l
cu ltu r e, cou ld decide to a ssu m e differ en t
str a te gic beh aviou r s a s r e ga r ds th e m a n a gem en t of th e en vir on m en ta l va r ia ble a ccor din g to th eir ca pita l r a tio con str a in ts. F in a lly,
w ith r e ga r d to th e em ployees’ “gr een ” com peten ces, we h ave to con sider th a t, in con texts
ch a r a cter ized by sign ifica n t tech n ica l a n d
m a n a ger ia l en vir on m en ta l com peten ces, th e
a doption of com plex pr ogr a m m es for th e
r edu ction of th e com pa n y’s im pa ct on th e
sta te of n a tu r a l r esou r ces is gr ea tly favou r ed.
T h e com pa n y’s stra tegic a ttitu d e. Con sider in g th a t th e com pa n y’s str a te gic a ttitu de
descr ibes, fr om a gen er a l view poin t, h ow a n d
wh eth er th e fir m r ea cts or pr oa cts to m a r k et
stim u li, we iden tified th r ee types of str a te gic
a ttitu de w ith r espect to com petitive va r ia bles; we distin gu ish ed between :
1 A d a ptiv e com pa n ies, i.e. fir m s wh ich a im
a t r ea ctin g to exter n a l pr essu r es per ceived
a s con str a in ts.
2 A n ticipa tiv e com pa n ies, i.e. fir m s wh ich ,
by con sider in g th e expected evolu tion of
th e com petitive en vir on m en t a n d of fu tu r e
cu stom er s’ r equ ir em en ts, a im a t in tr odu cin g pr oa ctive pr ogr a m m es a n ticipa tin g
sign ifica n t exter n a l pr essu r es.
3 In n ova tiv e fi r m s, i.e. com pa n ies wh ich ,
a ccor din g to a lon g-ter m or ien ted per spective, ta ke wea k sign a ls in to con sider a tion to
ver ify wh eth er th e explor ed m odification s
in th e exter n a l con text cou ld be con sider ed a s r ea l oppor tu n ities for th e com pa n y.
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
Th e str a te gic a ttitu de in a fi r m r esu lts fr om
th e com bin a tion of va r iou s fa ctor s; differ en t
com bin a tion s of th e pa r a m eter s below m ay
pr odu ce th e sa m e str a te gic a ttitu de (see
F igu r e 3).
The de gre e o f prio rity attribute d to the
e nviro nme ntal variable within the o ve rall
pro c e ss o f strate gy fo rmatio n
To iden tify th e de gr ee of pr ior ity a ttr ibu ted
by m a n a ger s to en vir on m en ta l issu es, we
h ave to r evea l wh eth er th e com pa n y in tegr a tes th e “gr een ” issu es in to th e pr ocess of
str a te gy for m a tion or if it sim ply con sider s
th e en vir on m en t a s a sign ifica n t m a n a ger ia l
topic. Mor e pr ecisely, we a ssu m e th a t m a n a ger s ca n con sider su ch en vir on m en ta l
issu es a s:
• A con stra in t; a ccor din g to th is per spective
th e com pa n y does n ot a dopt a con tin u ou s
im pr ovem en t-ba sed ph ilosoph y r ela ted to
its en vir on m en ta l per for m a n ce bu t it con sider s “gr een ” issu es m a in ly a s a tech n ica l
pr oblem th a t m u st be a n a lysed on ly in
r ela tion to n ew pr escr iption s of r e gu la tor s
or in ca se of cu stom er s’ bou n din g r equ ests
w ith a h igh ba r ga in in g power.
• A sign ifi ca n t m a n a ger ia l issu e sin ce th e
com pa n y a im s a t con sider in g th e en vir on m en t a s a n im por ta n t com petitive pr ior ity
even if th e im plem en ta tion of en vir on m en tba sed in itia tives h a s a su bor din a te im por ta n ce w ith r espect to pr ogr a m m es a im ed a t
im pr ovin g oth er com petitive pr ior ities a s
qu a lity, cost, tim e, etc.
• A stra tegic elem en t to in clu de in to th e over a ll pr ocess of str a te gy for m a tion : in th is
sen se, th e com pa n y develops com plex pr ogr a m m es, su ch a s r ecyclin g-ba sed in itia tives, th a t a ffect th e wh ole cor por a te va lu e
ch a in a n d, a t th e sa m e tim e, a ch ieves a h igh
level of com m itm en t w ith r e ga r d both to
depa r tm en ts involved in th e en vir on m en ta l
per for m a n ce im pr ovem en t pr ocess a n d to
fin a n cia l r esou r ces em ployed for th e a doption of “gr een ” pr ogr a m m es.
Accor din g to th e a bove issu es, it clea r ly
em er ges th a t th e com pa n y’s str a te gic a ttitu de
is th e m ost im por ta n t deter m in a n t for th e
iden tifi ca tion of th e de gr ee of pr ior ity a ttr ibu ted to en vir on m en ta l issu es w ith r espect to
th e oth er com petitive per for m a n ce (see F igu r e 4).
Figure 3
Main e le me nts c harac te rizing the c o mpany’ s strate gic attitude
Figure 4
The de gre e o f prio rity attribute d to “ gre e n” issue s with re spe c t to the c o mpany’ s ge ne ral
strate gic attitude
[9 ]
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
In deed, a da ptive fir m s u su a lly con sider th e
en vir on m en t a s a con str a in t sin ce th ey essen tia lly a dopt str a te gies of follower sh ip a n d, in
th is sen se, even in r ela tion to “gr een ” issu es
th ey on ly r ea ct to exter n a l pr essu r es a n d do
n ot develop a n y pr ogr a m m e a im ed a t a ch ievin g sign ifica n t com petitive a dva n ta ges.
On th e oth er h a n d, both a n ticipa tive a n d
in n ova tive com pa n ies sh ou ld con sider th e
en vir on m en t a s a sign ifica n t m a n a ger ia l
topic; to cla r ify th e r ole a ttr ibu ted to en vir on m en ta l issu es better, we h ave a lso to con sider
fa ctor s r ela ted to th e com pa n y’s in ter n a l
con figu r a tion a n d to th e field wh er e it oper a tes. In deed, fir m s w ith a n in n ova tive str a tegic or ien ta tion a n d oper a tin g in a fi eld wh er e
en vir on m en t-r ela ted issu es do n ot h ave a
sign ifica n t r eleva n ce – a s, for in sta n ce, th e
w a tch in du str y – cou ld con sider th e en vir on m en t a s a m a n a ger ia l topic a s well a s fi r m s
w ith a n a n ticipa tive a ttitu de wh en th ey h ave
em ployees w ith h igh “gr een ” com peten ces,
bu t lim ited fi n a n cia l r esou r ces.
F in a lly, envir on m en t-r ela ted va r ia bles ca n
be con sider ed a s str a te gic issu es on ly w ith in
fir m s wh ich h ave a n in n ova tive str a te gic
or ien ta tion ; in deed, su ch a de gr ee of pr ior ity
a ttr ibu ted to th e en vir on m en ta l va r ia ble
r equ ir es m a n a ger s to a dopt con tin u ou s in n ova tion , to esta blish str a te gic a llia n ces a n d
con ver t exter n a l wea k sign a ls r ela ted to th e
ch a n ge of en vir on m en ta l aw a r en ess in to
oppor tu n ities for th e com pa n y.
The re sulting e nviro nme ntal strate gie s
At th is level, we ca n iden tify th r ee envir on m en ta l str a te gies, ea ch on e cor r espon din g to
a specific de gr ee of pr ior ity a ttr ibu ted by th e
com pa n y to “gr een ” issu es. Hen ce, we distin gu ish a m on g a pa ssiv e, rea ctiv e a n d a n in tegra ted en viron m en ta l stra teg y (see F igu r e 5 ),
wh er e:
Figure 5
The ide ntifie d e nviro nme ntal strate gie s
[ 10 ]
• by a pa ssive str a te gy, we r efer to com pa n ies
in tr odu cin g en vir on m en ta l pr ogr a m m es
on ly in r espon se to sign ifi ca n t exter n a l
pr essu r es;
• a ccor din g to a r ea ctive str a te gy, th e com pa n y in tr odu ces a for m a l system a im ed a t
pla n n in g th e best “gr een ” pr ogr a m m es for
r edu cin g its im pa ct on th e sta te of n a tu r a l
r esou r ces r esu ltin g fr om both pr odu cts a n d
pr ocesses;
• by a n in te gr a ted envir on m en ta l str a te gy,
we r efer to com pa n ies wh ich in te gr a te
en vir on m en ta l issu es in to th e over a ll
pr ocess of str a te gy for m a tion a n d a ch ieve a
h igh level of com m itm en t a s r e ga r ds th e
system of a ctivities a n d h u m a n r esou r ces
involved in th e developm en t of th e com pa n y’s en vir on m en ta l per for m a n ce.
Th e developm en t of ea ch en vir on m en ta l
str a te gy depen ds on th e com pa n y’s str a te gic
or ien ta tion , th e com pa n y’s in ter n a l con figu r a tion a n d th e ch a r a cter istics of th e com petitive en vir on m en t wh er e it oper a tes; in pa r ticu la r, th e iden tifica tion of th e la tter fa ctor s
a llow s u s to iden tify th e fea sibility of ea ch
“gr een ” str a te gy.
Som e com bin a tion s of th ese fa ctor s ca n
m a k e a n en vir on m en ta l str a te gy m or e su sta in a ble.
An in te gr a ted str a te gy ca n be m or e effectively developed w ith in com pa n ies wh ich
h ave r eleva n t fin a n cia l r esou r ces, h ave
em ployees w ith a good en vir on m en ta l cu ltu r e
a n d w ith h igh “gr een ” cor e com peten ces,
both fr om a tech n ica l a n d a m a n a ger ia l view poin t. Refer r in g to th e in flu en ce th a t fa ctor s
r ela ted to th e com pa n y’s exter n a l con text
exer t on th e com pa n y’s over a ll pr ocess of
str a te gy for m a tion , we h ave fou n d th a t th e
in tr odu ction of a n in te gr a ted str a te gy is
con sisten t w ith h igh ly dyn a m ic
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
en vir on m en ts; in deed, in con texts ch a r a cter ized, for in sta n ce, by con tin u ou s ch a n ges of
th e tech n ologica l pa tter n s, su ch a s it is
im possible for th e com pa n y to r ea ct in tim e,
th e on ly fea sible beh aviou r is to develop lon gter m -or ien ted eva lu a tion s a n d, h en ce, to
a n ticipa te wea k sign a ls of th e m a r k et.
On th e oth er h a n d, a r ea ctive str a te gy m ay
be a dopted wh en exter n a l sta k eh older s exer t
fr equ en t en vir on m en t-r ela ted pr essu r es; th is
is th e ca se, for in sta n ce, of fir m s oper a tin g in
th e a u tom otive field th a t, ow in g to th e r eleva n t im pa ct on th e sta te of n a tu r a l r esou r ces
a ssocia ted to th e u sa ge of ca r s du r in g th eir
life, a r e often for ced by pu blic in stitu tion s or
by “gr een ” m ovem en ts to im pr ove th e en vir on m en ta l per for m a n ce of th eir pr odu cts.
With r e ga r d to th e con dition s of th e
com pa n y’s in ter n a l con fi gu r a tion th a t en su r e
th e fea sibility of su ch a str a te gy, we h ave to
con sider th a t its a doption is ea sier in con texts ch a r a cter ized by h igh “gr een ” com peten ces a n d a su fficien t ava ila bility of fin a n cia l r esou r ces.
F in a lly, th e im plem en ta tion of a pa ssive
en vir on m en ta l str a te gy ca n be con sider ed a s
a fea sible solu tion , for in sta n ce, in con texts
wh er e exter n a l sta k eh older s do n ot ta k e en vir on m en ta l issu es in to con sider a tion beca u se
of: th e pecu lia r ch a r a cter istics of th e pr odu cts a ch ieved by th e com pa n y – i.e. low en vir on m en ta l im pa ct on th e sta te of n a tu r a l
r esou r ces; or cou n tr y-specific fa ctor s lea din g
execu tives to con sider th e en vir on m en ta l
va r ia ble a s n ot sign ifi ca n t in th e pr ocess of
str a te gy for m a tion .
T h e en viron m en ta l progra m m es. We distin gu ish between differ en t pr ogr a m m es a ccor din g to th e im pa ct a ssocia ted w ith th eir im plem en ta tion ; in pa r ticu la r, we distin gu ish
between system ic in itia tives – i.e. pr ogr a m m es a ffectin g th e wh ole va lu e ch a in of
th e com pa n y, th u s r equ ir in g th e in volvem en t
of a ll th e fir m ’s depa r tm en ts – a n d “loca l”
pr ogr a m m es – i.e. in itia tives th a t a r e im plem en ted a n d a ffect a sin gle or ga n iza tion a l
u n it, th u s pr esen tin g a lim ited im pa ct on th e
cor por a te va lu e ch a in .
Accor din g to th is fr a m ewor k , we con sider
a s system ic in itia tives r ecyclin g-ba sed pr ogr a m m es or in itia tives a im ed a t ca r r yin g ou t
n ew “gr een ” pr odu ct developm en t
pr ogr a m m es sin ce th eir effective im plem en ta tion r equ ir es th e com pa n y to involve both
its or ga n iza tion a l u n its a n d th e wh ole su pply
va lu e ch a in . On th e con tr a r y, pr ogr a m m es,
for in sta n ce, a im ed a t in tr odu cin g n ew
“clea n ” tech n ologies ca n be con sider ed a s
“loca l” in itia tives sin ce th eir in tr odu ction
a ffects th e per for m a n ce of th e pr odu ction
depa r tm en t on ly (N oci, 1995b).
T h e role of th e en viron m en t in th e com pa n y’s
orga n iz a tion . Depen din g on th e existen ce of
specific or ga n iza tion a l u n its dedica ted to th e
en vir on m en ta l issu es, th e com pa n y ca n
defin e differ en t oper a tin g solu tion s for m a n a gin g “gr een ” issu es. Two fa ctor s a ppea r, in
ou r opin ion , sign ifica n t:
1 th e pr esen ce of a depa r tm en t specifica lly
a im ed a t th e m a n a gem en t of en vir on m en ta l issu es; a n d
2 th e power of en vir on m en ta l m a n a ger s
w ith r espect to th e oth er execu tives.
Implementing the identified environmental
strategies
Th e in ten ded en vir on m en ta l str a te gy ca n be
con sider ed a s a fea sible solu tion for th e com pa n y wh en it is con sisten t w ith both th e com petitive en vir on m en t wh er e th e fir m oper a tes
a n d th e ch a r a cter istics of its in ter n a l con fi gu r a tion . N ever th eless, a specific str a te gy con tr ibu tes to th e com pa n y’s econ om ic va lu e
on ly wh en it is effectively im plem en ted, too;
in th is sen se, it is cr itica l to a n a lyse th e m a n a ger ia l a n d in fr a str u ctu r a l con dition s th a t
a llow th e com pa n y to im plem en t ea ch en vir on m en ta l str a te gy su ccessfu lly. To th is en d,
we in tr odu ce va r ia bles th a t poin t ou t th e:
• oper a tin g envir on m en ta l pr ogr a m m es
en su r in g th e com pa n y to a ch ieve th e
pla n n ed r esu lts;
• r ole of th e en vir on m en t w ith in th e com pa n y’s over a ll or ga n iza tion ;
• in fr a str u ctu r a l r esou r ces dedica ted to th e
m a n a gem en t of en vir on m en ta l issu es; a n d
• th e decision -m a k in g pr ocess r ela ted to
“gr een ” pr ogr a m m es.
In pa r ticu la r, it is cr itica l to a n a lyse wh eth er
th ey a r e seen m er ely a s th e lea der s of a gr ou p
of tech n icia n s or if th ey a r e con sider ed to be
th e m a n a ger s of on e of th e m ost im por ta n t
depa r tm en ts of th e com pa n y.
T h e in fra stru ctu ra l resou rces. Th e cor por a te
in fr a str u ctu r a l r esou r ces r epr esen t th e
en gin e of th e a ctivities ca r r ied ou t by a com pa n y; in r ela tion to th e effective im plem en ta tion of “gr een ” in itia tives th e follow in g fa ctor s pr esen t a cr u cia l r ole:
• en viron m en ta l com peten ces, sin ce th e com pa n y n eeds differ en t types of com peten ces
depen din g on th e type of en vir on m en ta l
pr ogr a m m es: to th is en d, we distin gu ish
a m on g ju r idica l, tech n ica l-scien tific, com m u n ica tion -r ela ted a n d m a n a ger ia l com peten ces (ASAM, 1992); a n d
• en viron m en ta l cu ltu re, i.e. th e set of va lu es
a n d n or m s descr ibin g h ow th e com pa n y
per ceives th e en vir on m en ta l va r ia ble.
T h e d ecision -m a k in g process. Th e pr ocedu r e
a ccor din g to wh ich a com pa n y selects th e
m ost pr om isin g option a m on g a set of
[ 11 ]
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
poten tia l en vir on m en ta l a lter n a tives depen ds
on a gr ea t n u m ber of fa ctor s u su a lly r ela ted
to th e lea der sh ip style of th e top m a n a gem en t, th e com petitive envir on m en t wh er e th e
com pa n y oper a tes, its size, a n d th e a dopted
en vir on m en ta l str a te gy. However, to descr ibe
h ow th e decision -m a k in g pr ocess m u st be
ca r r ied ou t to su ppor t ea ch en vir on m en ta l
str a te gy, we n eed to ch a r a cter ize th e level of
com m itm en t of th e top m a n a gem en t in decision a l pr ocedu r e a n d th e level of decision a l
decen tr a liza tion a dopted by th e com pa n y in
r ela tion to en vir on m en ta l issu es.
Accor din g to th e a bove fa ctor s per m ittin g
u s to a n a lyse in m or e deta il th e im plem en ta tion ph a se of ea ch en vir on m en ta l str a te gy, we
descr ibe in th e follow in g u n der wh ich con dition s ea ch “gr een ” str a te gic beh aviou r ca n be
ca r r ied ou t m or e effectively.
The imple me ntatio n o f a passive
e nviro nme ntal strate gy
By th e a doption of a pa ssive “gr een ” str a te gy,
m a n a ger s a im a t developin g on ly th e
in itia tives th a t m in im ize th e com pa n y’s en vir on m en t-r ela ted expen ditu r es.
Su ch in itia tives a r e u su a lly ca r r ied ou t
w ith ou t a n y for m a l pla n n in g pr ocedu r e a n d,
in th is sen se, th eir im plem en ta tion u su a lly
cor r espon ds to r equ ir em en ts of exter n a l
sta k eh older s (see Ta ble I).
Accor din g to th ese issu es, it clea r ly
em er ges th a t m ost of th e pr ogr a m m es a r e
developed w ith in th e pr odu ction depa r tm en t
a n d, in pa r ticu la r, ca n be con sider ed a s en dof-pipe solu tion s – th is is th e ca se, for
in sta n ce, of som e ch em ica l com pa n ies wh ich
h ave in tr odu ced in th e la st few yea r s n ew
equ ipm en t for im pr ovin g th e pu r ifica tion of
a ir em ission s a n d for r edu cin g th e qu a n tity of
solid w a stes. Ow in g to th e lim ited im por ta n ce
a ttr ibu ted by m a n a ger s to en vir on m en ta l
va r ia bles, n o specific fu n ction is in tr odu ced
to m a n a ge “gr een ” issu es. Mor eover, ta k in g
in to a ccou n t th a t th e u n iqu e en vir on m en ta l
objective is to con for m th e com pa n y’s en vir on m en ta l per for m a n ce to pr escr iption s of
r e gu la tor s, ju r idica l com peten ces r epr esen t
th e k ey in fr a str u ctu r a l r esou r ces for su ppor tin g th e im plem en ta tion of a pa ssive str a te gy;
in m ost ca ses com m u n ica tion sk ills a r e
n eeded wh en th e fir m ’s a ction is du e to pr essu r e fr om th e pu blic. F in a lly, th e decision m a k in g pr ocess is u su a lly ca r r ied ou t by
decen tr a lizin g th e r espon sibility of th e decision m a k er s’ pr ocedu r e to th e tea m in volved
in th e specific en vir on m en t-r ela ted
pr ogr a m m e.
Table I
Manage rial c o nditio ns fo r the e ffe c tive imple me ntatio n o f a passive “ gre e n” strate gy
Passive environmental strategy
Environment-related objective
Environmental strategy
Environmental programmes
Corporate value chain
Systemic initiatives
Environmental department
Infrastructural resources
Environmental competences
Environmental culture
Decision-making process
[ 12 ]
Minimize the c ompany’ s environment-related expenditures
No formal planning proc edures
Produc tion
Produc tion proc ess
End-of-pipe solutions
Energetic and water revision and simplific ation of produc tion proc ess
Changes related to requirements of external stakeholders
Produc t
Reduc tion or elimination of toxic substanc es
Sales
Possible sales of sc raps
External c ommunic ation
Open plants
Public debates
Meetings with students
Logistic s
Possible reduc tion of pac kaging expenditures
Possible c hanges related to requirements of external stakeholders
Not developed
Not required
Juridic al and c ommunic ation-related
Not required
Dec entralization of the dec isional proc edure to the team involved in the
spec ific environment-related programme
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
The imple me ntatio n o f a re ac tive
e nviro nme ntal strate gy
Accor din g to th is str a te gy th e m a n a gem en t of
en vir on m en ta l issu es is con sider ed a s a n
im por ta n t topic for m a n a ger s; in pa r ticu la r,
en vir on m en ta l decision s a r e system a tica lly
in clu ded in th e over a ll pla n n in g pr ocedu r e
(see Ta ble II).
Wit h in t h is st r a t e gic b eh av iou r, m a n a ger s
a im a t im p lem en t in g en v ir on m en t a l p r ogr a m m es b ot h in t h e p r od u ct ion p r ocess a n d
in t h e R&D d e p a r t m en t a im ed a t op t im izin g
t h e com p a n y ’s r esp on se t o ext er n a l
p r essu r es; in d eed , Pola r oid , for in st a n ce,
by a d op t in g t h e p r ogr a m m e ca lled “Toxic
Use a n d Wa st e Red u ct ion ”, h a s in t r od u ced
a com p lex in it ia t ive, a im ed a t gr ea t ly
r ed u cin g t h e u se of ch em ica l su b st a n ces
a n d t h e p r od u ct ion of solid w a st es, t h a t is
con sist en t w it h t h e d evelop m en t of a
r ea ct ive en v ir on m en t a l st r a t e gy. Sim ila r ly,
Be gin Say h a s in t r od u ced com p lex
p r ogr a m m es for t h e r ecyclin g of w a t er in it s
su ga r r efin er y.
Table II
Manage rial c o nditio ns fo r the e ffe c tive imple me ntatio n o f a re ac tive “ gre e n” strate gy
Reactive environmental strategy
Environment-related objective
Environmental strategy
Environmental programmes
Corporate value chain
Systemic initiatives
Environmental department
Infrastructural resources
Environmental competences
Environmental culture
Decision-making process
Develop initiatives optimizing the response to external pressures
Formal planning proc edures
Produc tion and R&D
Produc tion proc ess
End-of-pipe solutions
Clean tec hnologies
Reuse of industrial waters and energetic rec overy
Development of alternative energetic systems
Changes related to requirements of external stakeholders;
Produc t
DFD
Development of new produc ts in order to reduc e or eliminate toxic
substanc es
Reduc tion of energetic c onsumption
Sales
Possible sales of sc raps
External c ommunic ation
Open plants
Public debates and press-c onferenc es
Meetings with students
Environmental advertising
Post-sales
Produc ts rec overy
Extended assistanc e to the c ustomers
Logistic s
Possible reduc tion of pac kaging expenditures
Possible c hanges related to requirements of external stakeholders
Regulators
Competitors
Suppliers
Customers
Other ac tors
Required
Juridic al
Tec hnic al-sc ientific
Communic ation-related
Managerial
Not required
In c ase of initiatives c harac terized by low c omplexity, dec isional
proc edures are c arried out at the line-managers’ level; otherwise the
selec tion proc edure must be developed at the top management’ s level
[ 13 ]
Gio vanni Azzo ne ,
Raffae lla Bianc hi,
Re nato Mauri and
Giuliano No c i
De fining o pe rating
e nviro nme ntal strate gie s:
pro gramme s and plans within
Italian industrie s
Enviro nme ntal Manage me nt
and He alth
8 / 1 [1 9 9 7 ] 4 –1 9
Sin ce th e developm en t of a r ea ctive “gr een ”
str a te gy r equ ir es th e com pa n y to ch eck con tin u ou sly, fr om a n en vir on m en ta l view poin t,
sign a ls follow in g fr om th e m a r k et, th e pr esen ce of a n or ga n iza tion a l depa r tm en t dedica ted to th e m a n a gem en t of en vir on m en ta l
issu es is n ecessa r y. Mor eover, r efer r in g to th e
com pa n y’s in fr a str u ctu r a l r esou r ces, we h ave
to con sider th a t th e r eleva n ce a ttr ibu ted to
th e en vir on m en ta l va r ia ble r equ ir es th e
com pa n y to h ave sign ifica n t en vir on m en tr ela ted com p