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This study examines the determinants of Environment Management System (EMS) adoption by public wastewater treatment facilities in the US. Based on the literature, it considers the range of regulatory, market and political influences on EMS adoption. The paper also incorporates prior work on publicness theory to articulate possible sectoral differences related to voluntary policy adoption. Hypotheses are tested using ordered logistic regression on data from a national survey of public wastewater treatment facilities in the US. Findings indicate that public wastewater treatment facilities that perceive stricter environmental regulation and greater attention from environmental groups and the public are more likely to voluntarily adopt an EMS. In addition, facilities reporting a higher degree of publicness are more likely to adopt in response to politician demands and when they apply greater amounts of biosolids to land. The findings carry implications for policy makers who aim to encourage public sector voluntary initiatives.
Notes
1. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines an Environmental Management System as “a set of processes and practices that enable an organisation to reduce its environmental impacts and increase its operating efficiency”. Accordingly, EMS does not set up requirements for environmental performance but rather provides a framework that helps to establish a more effective system to manage environmental aspects. The ISO 14000 series standards, developed by the International Standards Organisation, is the widely recognised EMS framework. Among the ISO 14000 family, ISO 14001 specifies requirements with guidance for EMS use and ISO 14004 complements ISO14001 by offering general guidelines on principles, systems and support techniques (ISO, 2009). An organisation that has met these requirements can become ISO 14001 certified. Other standards present requirements and direction for the use of additional environmental tools such as life-cycle assessment (ISO 14040, 14044), environmental auditing and performance evaluation (ISO 14031), and environmental labelling (ISO 14020, 14021, 14024, 14025) (ISO, 2009). The adoption of ISO 14000 EMS is voluntary. Costs to the adopting firms are substantial, while benefits include provision of visible environmental branding that may have positive market effects. Other EMS systems exist including the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) prepared by the European Union.
2. Biosolids are the nutrient-rich organic materials resulting from the treatment of domestic sewage at a wastewater treatment facility; through biosolids management, solid residue from wastewater treatment is processed to reduce or eliminate pathogens and minimise odours, forming a safe, beneficial agricultural product (NBP 2007).
3. http://www.wef.org/Biosolids/page.aspx?id = 7554