تله های تصمیم گیری در فرآیند پیاده سازی ایزو 14001: نتایج مطالعه موردی از ایلینویز شرکت دارای گواهینامه

This paper describes cognitive decision traps into which companies may fall prey during implementation of the ISO 14001 Standard, and their effect on the environmental performance of certified companies. The environmental performance of several Illinois ISO certified companies over time has been investigated. Furthermore, three manufacturing plants have been analyzed, in depth, in order to determine the possible correlation between their Environmental Management Systems and the environmental decision biases. The outcomes of this survey show that even companies seriously committed to the fulfillment of the Standard, can still accidentally fall prey to cognitive decision traps, and that the myths regarding the effectiveness of the ISO 14001 Standard are often far from reality. A set of guidelines that companies should follow in order to avoid the most serious decision traps is provided, as well as recommendations for the next ISO 14001 review.

ISO 14000 is a series of standards and guidelines formulated in 1996 by the International Organization for Standardization (Geneva, Switzerland), with the aim of standardizing the environmental management programs of industries worldwide. The standards are voluntary, and can be tailored to any organization regardless of its size, location and activity. The core of the series is the ISO 14001 Standard, which pertains to implementation of Environmental Management Systems (EMS). It is rapidly becoming the dominant international standard. As of December 2002, the total number of ISO 14001 certifications worldwide reached 46,836, with 2400 in the U.S. [1]. However, it is suspected that the Standard does not necessarily lead to an improvement in environmental performance. The hypothesis presented here is that the ISO 14001 implementation process can create several cognitive biases which may actually hinder the overall environmental performance of certified companies. The purpose of this paper is to describe and document cases of cognitive decision traps into which companies may fall prey during the ISO 14001 implementation, and to investigate their effect on environmental performance. In order to recognize the relevant behaviors that support this hypothesis, the environmental performance of several Illinois ISO certified companies was investigated, over time. Three case studies were analyzed in more detail, to identify correlations between the Environmental Management Systems and the decision traps. Finally, guidelines for overcoming the most serious decision traps are presented, together with recommendations for the next ISO 14001 review scheduled for 2004. In Section 2, relevant literature is reviewed. Section 3 describes the basic structure of the ISO 14001 Standard. Section 4 describes environmental decision traps that may be encountered during the Standard implementation. Section 5 analyses the environmental performance of Illinois companies before and after their ISO 14001 certification, and Section 6 presents the Standard adoption process of three companies. Conclusions are then drawn in Section 7 and recommendations are made in Sections 8 and 9.

This paper demonstrates the presence of environmental decision traps during the implementation of the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System, and investigated how the overall environmental performance of certified companies can be affected by these traps. The environmental performance of several Illinois ISO certified companies over time was investigated. Further, three manufacturing plants were visited, interviewed and analyzed to determine the possible correlation between their Environmental Management Systems and the environmental decision biases. Results indicate that even companies seriously committed to fulfillment of the Standard can still inadvertently fall prey to cognitive decision traps, and that the myths regarding the effectiveness of the ISO 14001 Standard can be far from reality. The concluding section provided a set of guidelines for overcoming the most serious decision traps encountered in the case studies, and identified a strategic certification path able to ensure both third-party registration and improved environmental performance. It is the authors' recommendation that these guidelines be incorporated into the body of the Standard during its revision scheduled for 2004.