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Writings 
Environment ETECI - 1
TROY DAVIS, SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS, ETECI ' 98, BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
Proposal for some elements of a
from Troy Davis, former Executive Director of the
National Hungarian Strategy to Implement
Environmental Management Standards
I Introduction International standards in quality and environmental
management are increasingly important in international trade. They are a major element of competition between companies and countries. These standards are set by international bodies, either inter-governmental (the European
Commission) or private (ISO). For the Hungarian economy to grow, international trade is a vital necessity and helps to improve the balance of payments. A healthy balance of payment and competitive companies which earn
hard currency and pay taxes are conditions for repaying foreign debts. It is therefore of strategic importance that Hungary do all it can to remain competitive, which means adopting a culture of continuous improvement (as required
by EMAS, ISO 9000 and ISO 14000) and seek to increase its input in the standards-making process, as well as seek to develop a credible reputation which will enable to grow its own certification industry.
II What are the problems facing Hungary? Apart from the known difficulties in implementing any environmental programme, the problems facing Hungary can be put into 3 categories. Each of this
category shows a dependence from outside, and specifically from the rich Western countries. This triple dependence means that even money spent by Hungarian enterprises to implement and get certified in Environmental Management
(EM), flows out of the country rather than staying in Hungary and creating jobs here. In a small but psychologically significant way, it makes the balance of payment worse. The 3 dependencies are the following:
1. dependency on rich countries for the content of the standards themselves (whether EMAS or ISO 14000) This means that no one defends the interests of Hungarian industry. Hungary has no influence on the terms of
reference of what some see as major weapons in trade wars. 2. dependency on rich countries for certification of companies to EMAS, ISO 1400x etc. (e.g. TÜV, Veritas, Lloyds, SGS etc.) 3. dependency on rich countries
for accreditation of local certifying companies.
The last two problems are due to a lack of credibility of Hungarian organizations in the marketplace. Such credibility cannot be established by fiat, as it depends on the belief of individual client companies, but must be slowly
built up using specific measures. Vocabulary Finally, it is extremely important to be aware of the linguistically small but crucial differences in the vocabulary of Environmental Management. The most common error is to
confuse EM with EMS, i.e. the system which enable EM to be implemented. An EMS alone is the crucial organizational tool, but cannot function meaningfully without many other tools, which include Environmental Auditing, Life-Cycle
Assessment etc. This is recognized by both the EU and the ISO, as EMAS includes also other elements of an integrated approach to EM, i.e. initial environmental review, EA and environmental reporting. Even ISO 14001, which is only
one of a series of over 20 standards prepared by ISO / TC 207, makes reference to other standards of the series which refer to separate tools. The overall concept is clearly Environmental Management (EM), not
Environmental Management Systems (EMS).
III What can be done?
A
three-prong strategy must be adopted to deal with the 3 faces of the problem. III. 1 Accreditation The ultimate base of the system is accreditation, therefore it is necessary to
reinforce the accreditation system. Reinforcing the accreditation system is necessary to create the credibility which will enable Hungary to have strong certifying companies. Credibility is everything, as it is what creates
the good reputation and the trust of companies, the government and NGOs. The problem is how to do so: the best would be to see what accreditation agencies in EU countries, and seek to do the same as much as possible. It is
very likely that if any money is needed, that the EU PHARE programme for harmonization could provide some. Goal: to have an accreditation system good enough that the market trusts it. Possible goal:
to develop a regional pole of excellence in accreditation, so that companies of other countries come to Hungary to be accredited. Indicators of success:
- when Hungarian certification companies accredited to the Hungarian agency have the same commercial success as those accredited in the West. - when Czech and Slovak certifiers prefer to get certified in Hungary rather
than in their own country
III. 2. Certification The second thing to do is to use this accreditation (or others in the meantime) to create a strong domestic certifying industry. One problem is how to use market forces to
accelerate the fusion of existing companies so as to create more quickly companies able to compete with Western giants. Ways exist to do so. Also, the government could in the different bodies in which it sits (e.g.
EBRD, OECD, UN ECE etc.), or with close relationships (e.g. EU) request that as a rule Hungarian consultants are used by foreign donors, or at least that all foreign consultants should include Hungarian nationals in their team.
Possible goal: to have Hungarian certifiers do a majority of the certification business in Hungary by the year 2000. III. 3 Influence on Standards In parallel to this, a pool of experience should be
created from Hungarian companies so that when ISO 14000 standards are revised, that Hungarian companies or their representatives sit at the table and make their voices heard. This is to create a credible "Hungarian
voice" in the ISO / TC 207 process. The official revision process starts in 1999, but already some countries are suggesting to start it earlier (e.g. Switzerland, i.e. a typical rich country quite advance in management
systems, quality and environment issues). It is vital that Hungarian representatives sit at the revision table. The necessary steps to increase Hungarian influence are:
- publish the standards in Hungarian (not adapt them, just translate, else credibility is lost because people will believe the standards have been weakened!) - promote implementation (e.g. through sponsoring training
course through non-profit organizations such as KÖVET) - create a Mirror Committee to TC 207, i.e. Hungarian National Committee for EM Standards. These exist e.g. in the USA, France, UK, Germany, Japan, Czech Republic, South
Africa, Malaysia, Korea, Netherlands etc.
Proposed founders: Ministry of Industry, National Standards Institute, INEM Hungary and Magyar Minöseg Tarsasag. Hungary has a advantage over some countries in that there exist in Hungary a branch of the
International Network for Environmental Management (KÖVET-INEM Hungary). INEM is the world's largest non-profit business-based organization dedicated to promoting EM standards. INEM Hungary should be a strategic partner for the
Ministry and the Standards Institute. A major reason is that through the INEM Main Secretariat, INEM Hungary has access to a wealth of information, access to the official ISO meetings (as does the Standards Institute) and
knowledge about the history, backgrounds, controversies etc. in ISO/TC 207. This knowledge is not easily accessible in Hungary. See Annex 1 for other reasons to have INEM Hungary as strategic partner. Annex 2 describes the
body created by INEM called the Informal Working Group on the Implementation of ISO 14000. For EMAS, the government should inform the EU DG XI of its plans for the speedier implementation of EM standards, including EMAS,
and request information on the process of update of EMAS and how can Hungarian companies can make their suggestions known. If this is formally not possible, then Hungarian companies can still do this via INEM Hungary and the INEM
Main Secretariat based in Germany. DG XI and the EMAS people there know INEM very well and have given a contract to the INEM Main Secretariat to elaborate an EMAS Tools Kit (in which INEM Hungary is participating as
observers). See Annex 3 for a description of the EMAS Tools Kit project. IV. Suggestions for implementation of the national strategy To maximize the synergy between bodies, accelerate the flow of information, take
advantage of the experience of others, motivate individuals, avoid competence fights, and maximize the benefits for the least costs, it is proposed to state explicitly some principles for the operations of new bodies set up
(such the ISO/TC 207 shadow committee). The following are some suggestions: Suggested principles of operation:
1. Each body set up should be a "Learning Organization" 2. Each body should adopt a policy and develop an internal culture of Continuous Improvement of its structure and activities 3. Each body should be open
to critical international input from "friendly" organizations. 4. Each body shall follow a clear communication strategy jointly co-ordinated with the main actors in Hungary 5. Each body should have adequate
representation of business and industry, ideally one from the traditional business organizations, and one from business organizations specializing in the subject. 6. Each body shall have a clear definition of its tasks
and responsibilities, of its relationship to other actors, the rules of and of the overall co-ordination mechanisms between them
Communication strategy A good communication strategy must be implemented to minimize costs of spreading the knowledge about the overall strategy, to obtain participation of more Hungarian companies, and create a
positive dynamic in the media and in the business world, i.e. a virtuous circle whereby the more companies and institutions are involved, the more want to become involved, and the less expensive it gets overall.
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