Using the objectives development process of an environmental management system as an opportunity to achieve design for the environment

This paper describes the means of achieving the integration of design-for-the-environment practices into an environmental management system (EMS) through the objectives-setting process of the EMS. Many progressive large firms, and even some smaller firms, have implemented EMSs to various degrees of formality within recent years. EMSs enable organizations to give increased focus, momentum and sustainability to their efforts to improve their environmental performance. Design for the Environment (DFE) has not yet significantly affected the products and processes at most firms. The authors propose that EMSs may provide the vehicle for firms to seriously examine the potential for DFE, and the structure to make it happen. The objectives-setting step within EMS deployment is specifically proposed as the process within which appropriate DFE practices can be identified and targeted for implementation