Post on 06-Feb-2018
transcript
HumanResourceManagementandEnvironmentalSustainability
MasterThesis
InstitutfürStrategie‐undUnternehmensökonomikUniversityofZurich
ChairofHumanResourceManagement
Prof.Dr.BrunoStaffelbach
LessonsLearnedfromSwissCompanies
Major: MAofArtsinEconomics,Betriebswirtschaftslehre
Subject: HumanResourceManagement
Autor: SerafinBäbler
Adresse: Bülachstr.5i
PLZOrt: CH‐8057Zürich
E‐mail: serafin.baebler@access.uzh.ch
Matrikelnummer: 04‐705‐364
No.ofSemesters: 10
DueDate: August,27th2010
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability II
Abstract
Thepresentmasterthesisexaminesthefieldofcorporateenvironmentalstrategiesand
correspondinghumanresourcemanagementpractices.Itistheaimofthisworktode‐
velopatypologyforcorporateenvironmentalinitiativesandthereforebeabletoassess
the company’s strategywith the help of three ideal types: First, the companieswho
followatypeAstrategyseeenvironmentalissuesasarisk,whichistobemitigatedand
theythereforeestablishacorporatecontrolstrategy.Second,firmsthatfollowatypeB
strategyrecognizeenvironmentalmattersasanopportunityfornewbusinessmodels
andtransformtheirprocessesandcorevaluesto ‘green’businessactivities.Thethird
wayincorporateselementsformthetypeAandBatthesametime.
Duringthedevelopmentandtheexecutionofacorporateenvironmentalinitiative,sev‐
eral units of the organization contribute in a joint process and by doing so different
rolesaretaken.Oneimportantcontributorforaninitiativeisthehumanresourceman‐
agementof the firm.Basedonthe typologyof initiatives, therequirements to thehu‐
man resource activities are elaborated. Three case studies, which are developed
through qualitative researchmethods, describe environmental initiatives from Swiss
firmsandoutlinelessonslearnedfromthesefirms.
Allinall,tenspecificlessonslearnedarederivedfromthecasestudies.Thefindingsare
analyzedanddiscussedwiththeconsiderationof therespectivestrategicbackground
ofthecompany.Thelessonslearneddescribetheimpactoftrainingontheemployee’s
understanding of the environmentalmatter.Moreover, theway ofmanagement sup‐
port is analyzed in thedifferent strategic contextsof the companies.A further lesson
learned describes the importance of the application of the topic of environmental
sustainability to thespecific tasksof theemployee toraise theawareness for the im‐
portanceofthematter.Additionally,theneedfortheintegrationoftheenvironmental
initiativesintothehumanresourceprocessesisexplained.Theseareonlysomeofthe
fieldswhicharecoveredbythelessonslearnedformthecasestudies.
Allthingsconsidered,themasterthesisprovidesaframeworkforanalysisofenviron‐
mental initiatives and related lessons learned about effective human resource man‐
agementactivitiesandcorrespondingroles.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability III
TableofContents
ListofFigures .........................................................................................................................................VListofTables...........................................................................................................................................VListofAbbreviations .............................................................................................................................VI
1 Introduction............................................................................................................................. 11.1 ResearchQuestions ............................................................................................................... 21.2 Delimitations ......................................................................................................................... 31.3 Structure................................................................................................................................ 3
PartA:TheoreticalConsiderations
2 EnvironmentalSustainabilityandCorporateStrategies............................................................ 42.1 TheGreenWave .................................................................................................................... 42.2 TheEnvironmentalSustainabilityParadigm.......................................................................... 92.3 ImpactofEnvironmentalSustainabilityonCorporateStrategies ....................................... 12
3 CorporateEnvironmentalInitiatives....................................................................................... 193.1 DefinitionofCorporateEnvironmentalInitiatives .............................................................. 193.2 ATypologyofCorporateEnvironmentalInitiatives............................................................. 22
3.2.1 TypeA:GreenasThreat–CorporateControl/RiskMitigation ...........................................243.2.2 TypeB:GreenasOpportunity–Entrepreneurial .................................................................263.2.3 HybridFormofAandBwithinOneCorporateStrategy ......................................................28
4 InteractionwithHumanResourceManagementPractices ..................................................... 294.1 EnvironmentalHumanResourceManagementPractices ................................................... 294.2 ModelforKeyRolesandResponsibilities............................................................................ 324.3 OrganizationalConcernsforCorporateEnvironmentalInitiatives...................................... 34
PartB:EmpiricalWork
5 CasesStudies:LessonsLearnedfromSwissFirms ................................................................... 365.1 Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 37
5.1.1 SampleofCompanies ...........................................................................................................375.1.2 ResearchMethod..................................................................................................................38
5.2 CaseStudy1:Galenica’sCorporateEnvironmentalStrategyand Initiatives in thePharmaIndustry ............................................................................................................................... 415.2.1 Galenica’sCorporateEnvironmentalStrategy......................................................................425.2.2 CodeofConductandEmployeeParticipation:DescriptionoftheCEIandResults ..............455.2.3 LessonsLearnedformtheInitiative......................................................................................495.2.4 DiscussionandConclusionformtheGalenicaCase..............................................................51
5.3 Case Study 2:Geberit’s Corporate Environmental Strategy and Initiatives in the SanitaryTechnologyIndustry ............................................................................................................ 535.3.1 Geberit’sCorporateEnvironmentalStrategy .......................................................................535.3.2 EnvironmentandRecyclingTraining:DescriptionandResults.............................................555.3.3 LessonsLearnedformtheInitiative......................................................................................615.3.4 DiscussionandConclusionformtheGeberitCase ...............................................................63
5.4 CaseStudy3:Holcim’sCorporateEnvironmentalStrategyand Initiatives in theMaterialsIndustry ............................................................................................................................... 645.4.1 Holcim’sCorporateEnvironmentalStrategy ........................................................................655.4.2 TheCEIfortheUsageofAlternativeEnergiesintheCementProcess .................................685.4.3 LessonsLearnedformtheInitiative......................................................................................735.4.4 DiscussionandConclusionformtheHolcimCase ................................................................75
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability IV
PartC:ImplicationsfromtheCaseStudies
6 DiscussionoftheLessonsLearnedfromtheCaseStudies ....................................................... 766.1 SummaryoftheLessonsLearned........................................................................................ 766.2 LessonsLearnedcomparedindifferentContexts ............................................................... 78
6.2.1 ImpactofManagementSupport ..........................................................................................786.2.2 EmployeeTrainingfor‘CorporateGreening’........................................................................80
6.3 HumanResourceManagement’sRolesinCorporateEnvironmentalInitiatives................. 816.3.1 AssessmentoftheLessonsLearnedintheKeyRolesModel ...............................................816.3.2 DifferencesinCentralizationversusDecentralizationofHRFunctions................................83
6.4 WhiteSpotsintheLessonsLearned.................................................................................... 84
7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 85
ListofLiterature ........................................................................................................................... 87
AppendixI:ListoftheInterviewPartners ..................................................................................... 93AppendixII:DocumentsformtheEmpiricalProcess ..................................................................... 96AppendixIII:SupplementaryDocumentsformtheCaseStudies ................................................. 102
CaseStudyGalenica .................................................................................................................... 102CaseStudyGeberit ...................................................................................................................... 109CaseStudyHolcim ....................................................................................................................... 114
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability V
ListofFigures
Fig.1:IllustrationoftheGreenWave. ................................................................................................... 8Fig.2:ImpactofEnvironmentalSustainabilityonCorporateStrategies. ............................................ 15Fig.3:FrameworkforCEI. .................................................................................................................... 20Fig.4:Porter’sValueChain .................................................................................................................. 21Fig.5:ModelofCorporateEnvironmentalInitiatives. ......................................................................... 23Fig.6:TypicalCEIfortype1–greenasathreat. ................................................................................. 25Fig.7:TypicalCEIfortype2–greenasanopportunity. ...................................................................... 27Fig.8:Typehybrid–bothformsofCIEwithinonecompany .............................................................. 28Fig.9:HRMpracticesandtherelationtoCEI....................................................................................... 30Fig.10:ContinuumofCentralOrganizationversusDecentralOrganizationofFunctions................... 35Fig.11:SampleoftheCompaniesfortheCaseStudies. ...................................................................... 37Fig.12:EmpiricalProcessfortheCaseStudies. ................................................................................... 38Fig.13:OverviewofGalenica’sBusinessSections. .............................................................................. 41Fig.14:ClassificationofGalenica’sCESintheModel. ......................................................................... 43Fig.15:Galenica’sCEIfortheEnvironmentalCodeofConduct........................................................... 45Fig.16:TheScopeofGalenica’sCEIinPorter’sValueChain................................................................ 47Fig.17:RolesandResponsibilitieswithinGalenica’sInitiative. ........................................................... 48Fig.18:Galenica’sLessonsLearnedformtheCEI. ............................................................................... 50Fig.19:Geberit’sCESinthemodel. ..................................................................................................... 54Fig.20:OverviewofGeberit’sInitiativeforEnvironmentalTraining. .................................................. 55Fig.21:DiagrammonGeberit’sEnvironmentalImpact. ...................................................................... 57Fig.22:TheScopeofGeberit’sInitiativeinPorter’sValueChain. ....................................................... 58Fig.23:RolesandResponsibilitieswithinGeberit’sCEI. ...................................................................... 60Fig.24:LessonsLearnedformGeberit’sCEI. ....................................................................................... 61Fig.25:Holcim’sBusinessSections. ..................................................................................................... 64Fig.26:TheFocusofEnvironmentalSustainabilityatHolcim.............................................................. 66Fig.27:Hocim’sCESintheModel. ....................................................................................................... 67Fig.28:OverviewofHolcim’sCEI. ........................................................................................................ 69Fig.29:TheScopeofHolcim’sCEIinPorter’sValueChain. ................................................................. 71Fig.30:RolesandResponsibilitieswithinHolcim’sCEI. ....................................................................... 72Fig.31:LessonsLearnedformHolcim’sCEI. ........................................................................................ 74Fig.32:OverviewoftheLessonsLearnedintheCaseStudies............................................................. 77Fig.33:DifferentApproachesforManagementSupport..................................................................... 79Fig.34:LessonsLearnedintheAreaofEmployeeTraining. ................................................................ 80Fig.35:OrganizationalAspectsoftheHRFunctions............................................................................ 83Fig.36:AffectedHRActivitiesintheCaseStudies. .............................................................................. 84
ListofTables
Table1:ListofAbbreviations................................................................................................................VITable2:OverviewofEnvironmentalManagementModels ................................................................ 16Table3:TheKeyRolesandResponsibilitiesforHRProfessionals ....................................................... 33Table4:StructureoftheCaseStudies ................................................................................................. 40Table5:AssessmentofRolesbeingtakenintheCaseStudies ............................................................ 82
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability VI
ListofAbbreviations
Table1:ListofAbbreviations
Abbr. Explanation
BSC BalancedScoreCard
CES CorporateEnvironmentalStrategy
CEI CorporateEnvironmentalInitiative
CSR CorporateSocialResponsibility
DJSI DowJonesSustainabilityIndex
EMS EnvironmentalManagementSystem
GRI GlobalReportingInitiative
GTZ DeutscheGesellschaftfürtechnischeZusammenarbeit
HR HumanResources
HRM HumanResourcesManagement
ISO InternationalStandardsOrganization
KPI KeyPerformanceIndicator
OD OrganizationalDevelopment
PMS PerformanceManagementSystem
SIX SwissStockExchange
UN UnitedNations
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 1
1 Introduction
Theterm‘sustainability’evolvedduringthefirstyearsofthe21stcenturytooneofthe
most cited key words and one of the biggest challenges for businesses and for the
community (UNGlobalCompact,2004).The implementationof sustainablecorporate
strategies requires strong leadership and a concrete process (Glavas, Senge, Cooper‐
rider, 2010).While scholars still dispute the impact of sustainability on the financial
bottomline,theimplementationinfirmshasalreadybeengoingonforyears(Halme&
Laurila,2009;Elkington1999).However,CESoftentakeplacewithoutavisionorplan
(Lubin&Esty,2010).
Facing the need of incorporating ‘green’ into the corporate strategy, the topic of
sustainability ismovingupon theagendaofmostbusiness leadersandmanagement
boards,whereas itgenerallystaysoff theradarscreenandawarenessofmostpracti‐
tionersintheHRenvironment(Wirtenberg,Harmon,Russell&Fairfield,2007).
Theevolutionofcompaniestowardssustainablebusinessmodelstakesplaceaccording
to different strategies (Kolk&Mauser, 2002;Delmas&Montes‐Sancho, 2010). Some
companiessee‘green’asathreatwhileothersrecognize‘green’asanopportunity.The
diversificationofcorporateenvironmental strategies (CES) leads todifferentrequire‐
mentstowardstheinvolvedbusinessunits.Especiallytheroleofhumanresourceman‐
agement (HRM) is dependent on strategic decisions and influenced by the corporate
strategyofthefirm(Campbell,2007).Therefore,eachcorporatestrategyhasitsmost
effectiveHRMsystem(Schuler&Jackson,2001).
This work will analyze the different approaches of the integration of environmental
concernsintothecorporatestrategyanddevelopaframeworkfortheclassificationof
the strategies trough ideal types. Furthermore, the corresponding corporate environ‐
mental initiatives(CEI)willbeoutlined,whichcorrespondtotheunderlyingstrategy.
This will result in a model for CEI, describing initiatives based on several strategic
backgrounds.Basedonthemodel, therequirementstotheHRMdepartmentwill first
bederivedfromatheoreticalpointofview.Theapplicationofthesefindingsintheem‐
piricalpartwillputevidencebehindtheimplicationsofthetheoreticalpart.
The empirical part contains three case studies of Swiss companies. In the cases, one
specificinitiativeisdescribedandsomelessonslearnedarepresented.Afterwards,the
analysisacrossthecaseswilldiscussandvalidatethelessonslearnedandderivesome
generalimplicationforthepractitionersandthescientisttoo.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 2
1.1 ResearchQuestions
Startingwiththereviewofthecurrentstateofliterature,onecanfindmanyconcepts
describing how companies can develop to more environmental sustainable business
models.Thedecisionabouthowto incorporatesustainabilitydependsonseveral fac‐
tors,forexamplethepositionandthestrategyinthemarket(Kolk&Mauser,2002).It
isthefirstobjectiveofthethesistodevelopandevaluate,basedonthecurrentstateof
theliterature,atypologyofCESand–indoingso–distinguishbetweenthreetypesof
CEI.Thisleadstothefirstresearchquestion:
Q1:Whatarethemajorconceptsofenvironmentalsustainability intheliteratureand
howcantheseconceptsbetranslatedintoatypologyofCESandcorrespondingCEI?
Given the typology of the corporate strategies and corresponding initiatives, the re‐
quirementstotheHRMdepartmentwillbeanalyzed.Eachenvironmentalstrategyhas
auniqueimpactontheHRMsystemofthecompany(Doppelt,2008;Losey,Meisinger&
Ulrich,2005).TheimpactonHRMsystemswillbeexplainedonthelevelofHRactivi‐
tiesthataretypicallyaffectedtroughCEIandpossiblerolesthatcouldbetakenbythe
HRMunitsduringthedevelopmentandtheexecutionofaninitiative:
Q2: From a conceptual point of view, what are the requirements from the different
typesofCEItotheHRactivitiesofthefirmsandtherolebeingplayedbyHRM?
Based on the findings of the conceptual part of this thesis, the empirical part of this
thesiswillbeconducted.Itistheaimoftheempiricalparttoderivereal‐lifeexamples
ofthechallengesandlessonslearnedofselectedcompaniesfromeachidealtypecor‐
poratestrategyofQ1andtherolesandrequirementsfromQ2:
Q3:Inpractice,whatarethemainlessons learnedandchallengeswithregardstothe
practices and roles of HRM in the context of the type of corporate environmental
sustainabilitystrategy?
The three research question guide the work and lead to the structure of the thesis,
whichwillbedescribedas follows.Butbefore, somedelimitation to thescopeof this
workwillbemade.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 3
1.2 Delimitations
Thetopicofenvironmentalsustainabilityincludesawiderangeofresearchdirections
and ideologies.This thesiswill focuson themanagement literatureof environmental
sustainability.Althoughenvironmentalsustainabilityisthecoreareaofthework,some
literature in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be included in the
considerations (e.g. Porter & Kramer, 2006; Pedersen, 2010). Compared to the pure
scopeofenvironmentalsustainability,thepublicationsinthefieldofCSRalsoinclude
societalconcerns.Butforthisthesisiswasmandatorytounderstandthefullscopeof
thetopicandthereforeincludesomepublicationsinthisfieldaswell.
1.3 Structure
Thethesisstartswiththeintroduction(chapter1),whichdescribestheareaofinterest
andtheresearchquestions.
Theremainingdocumentisstructuredintothreeparts.PartArepresentsthetheoreti‐
cal foundationof the thesis,which includes thechapters2 to4.Chapter2 introduces
thereadertothetopicofenvironmentalsustainabilityandpresentsthecurrentstatus
oftheliterature.Theimpactofenvironmentalsustainabilityonthecorporatestrategy
of thecompanies lies in the focusof thatchapter.Chapter3covers theneedofaCES
being translated into initiatives. The term CEI will be presented and discussed in a
deepermannerwithin thischapter leading toamodel for theclassificationofCEIac‐
cording ideal types.Given the typology forCEI, the implication to theHRMsystem is
derivedinchapter4.
Based on the finding of the theoretical part, in chapter 5 a qualitative study is con‐
ductedwithtreecasesstudies(partB).Theempiricalpartfocusesontherolesencoun‐
tered in practice, lessons learned andmajor challenges in the implementation of the
initiativesinthefirms.
PartC focuseson the implicationsof thecasestudies. Inchapter6, thesynthesisand
there‐evaluationofthecasestudiestakesplace.Theconclusioninchapter7showsa
summaryoftheresultsandhighlightstherelevanceofthefindingsandresultsforprac‐
titionersandscientists.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 4
2 EnvironmentalSustainabilityandCorporateStrategies
2.1 TheGreenWave
Theawarenessofenvironmentalissueshasbeenincreasedmoreandmoreinthepoli‐
tics, thepublicandalso in themanagement levelofcompanies.The followingsection
will explainhow this awarenesshasbeen reachedandwhat themajor impactpoints
therewereinthenearerpast.
Informationtechnologyandmediapresence
Forthisreason,wewouldliketodescribethemostimportantprerequisitesandatthe
sametimealsodriversforthisevolutiontowardsenvironmentalawareness.Firstofall,
asaprerequisiteforinformationsharingallovertheworld,telecommunicationmadea
contributiontothedevelopmentofthegreenwave,andthisbasedontworeasons.On
the on onehand, the newermedia technologies can transport pictures and videos of
naturaldisastersandotherspectacularphenomenainabetterqualityandfasterthan
ever all around the world. We all have certain pictures in our head when we think
aboutnaturaldisasters,andwiththemodernmediaandtelecommunicationtechnolo‐
gies, thewholemodernworld shares the pictures about this disasters and therefore
also a basis for environmental issues. An example for this is the natural catastrophe
thatoccurredin2005aroundthecityofNewOrleans,hurricaneKatrina.VideosonTV,
newspaperpicturesandradioreportswerespreadinnotimearoundtheworld.Fur‐
thermore,wewilllaterdiscusssomemorecompanyrelatedexamplesofenvironmental
incidents,themediareportsweredistributedallovertheworldandthereforethepeo‐
plearoundtheworldshareacommonmemoryabouttheseissues.
Besidethetransportationofthemediapicturesovertheworld,theinformationsharing
itselfhasbeenenhancedsignificantlyoverthe last20years.Withthediffusionof the
accesstotheWorldWideWeb,researchcommunitieshavebeenmovedtogethertoa
globalcommunityofscientists,alsoable toshare information immediatelyand faster
thaneverbefore.Thismakesthecommunityhighlyproductiveandeffective inglobal
collaboration.Asanexample for this,wewillnextpresent themajor findingsandre‐
portsformglobalscholarcommunityinthisarena.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 5
ScientificandPoliticalDebatefromRiodeJaneiroEarthSummittoAR4
Asoneof the firstand importantglobal initiatives inthemid1980ies, theUnitedNa‐
tionsfoundedaninternationalgroupofexpertstoworkonareportabouttheworld’s
environmental evolution. At the beginning the group was headed by Gro Harlem
Brundtland,whowasprimeministerofNorwayat this time.Underherguidance, the
commission created a report named “Our Common Future”.1 The publication of the
report dramatically changed the public and political discussion about environmental
issues.Forthefirsttime,thereportbroughtthingsinconnectionthatweresofarcon‐
sideredseparately.Thedocumentsprovidedanintegrativeviewoftheeconomicpro‐
gress of the industrialized countries, which, for example, goes along with environ‐
mentalpollutionandarmsbuild‐up,whereason theotherhandwe facepovertyand
dept in the thirdworldcountries.These factorscombinedwith the factofgrowingof
populationandexpansionofthedesertscreatedanintegrative,butalsoalarmingand
awakeningviewonthecurrentchallengesintheglobalenvironmentalsector.Asanext
importantpointofthereport,theeditorsdeclaredthedefinitionofsustainabledevel‐
opment,asweknowittoday:“Sustainabledevelopmentisdevelopmentthatmeetsthe
needs of thepresentwithout compromising the ability of future generations tomeet
theirownneeds”(Brundtland&Khalid,1987).Asoneresultof thepublicationof the
paper, theearthsummit inRiode Janeiro(1992)was initiated.Duringthesummit in
Rio, the participants agreed on 27 principles and the so‐called agenda 21 about sus‐
tainabledevelopment.2Theprinciplesledtoacommitmentoftheparticipantstopro‐
tecttheglobalenvironmentandrecognizingtheinterdependentnatureoftheEarth.
Especiallythescientificcommunitydidnotstopwiththeirresearchafterthecommit‐
mentsofRiodeJaneiro.Asoneimportantproject,wewouldliketoconsiderherethe
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This group of scientist continu‐
ouslyresearchesonclimatespecificissuesandmoreoverregularlyreviewstheworkof
the global community. Important for public awareness are the several reports pub‐
lishedbythisgroup.ThefirstIPCCassessmentreport(AR1)wasreadyforthefamous
earthsummit inRio.Afterthis, theIPCCcommunityfurtherpublishedthreemoreas‐
sessmentreports.Thesecondassessmentreport(AR2)waspublishedintheyear1995,
thethirdpublication(AR3)in2001andthesofarmostrecentreportin2007(AR4).3
1ThisdocumentispublishedontheUNwebsite:http://www.un‐documents.net/wced‐ocf.htm,visitedonMay25th2010.
2Thedocumentisavailableon:http://www.un‐documents.net/rio‐dec.htm,visitedonMai25th2010.
3All the mentioned reports are available on the IPCC website:http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_and_data_reports.htm, visited onJune1st2010.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 6
Goingbrieflyintothedetailsofthereport,wediscoverthefollowingstructure(Inter‐
governmentalPanelonClimateChange,2007):Chapter1summarizestheobservation
of thechanges in theenvironmentand theireffecton thenaturalandhumansystem.
Themost important signals or evidence for changes are:Recurrent smog alerts, acid
rain, holes inozone layer, globalwarming, and the lossof biodiversity (Amber&La‐
noie,2008).Theotherchaptersfocusonthepossiblesourcesofthechangesdescribed
inchapter1andpossiblemitigationoptions.Thisreportisimportantforboththepub‐
licandthepolitics,becauseitraisesawarenessofthetopicsandsetsthepointsonthe
publicandpoliticalagenda.
As a follow up of the Earth Summit, in the year 1997 the conference in Kyoto took
place.Thisconventionfocusedespeciallyontheglobalwarmingissueandtheemission
ofgreenhousegases.Themajoraimoftheconferencewastogetanagreementofcol‐
lective reduction of green house gas emissions. After days of negotiation,whichwas
accompaniedbyamajormediapresenceandongoingpublicityallovertheworld,the
187participatingstatesfinallyagreedonareductiontargetofminus5.2%basedonthe
emissionsof1990.Theconcretestatementofthecountrieswasalsoclearsignaltothe
businessworld that firms have to stick now concrete reductions too. The public and
politicalawarenessrosemoreandmore.
After somemore years of public debate and raising awareness of the environmental
problems in theword theUnitedNations invited toanothersummit for international
communityinJohannesburg(2001).BasedontheAR2andAR3reportofIPCC,thepoli‐
ticiansandscientistcommunitydiscussedpossiblenewwaysofputtingthegreengas
reductiontargetsandotherenvironmentalprotectionplans intoaction. Itcanberec‐
ognized that the (scientific) knowledge about the changes, trends and impacts con‐
sciously increasesbutat thesametimethecomplexityof thediscussionandproblem
solving approaches alsomultiplies due to different interest substitution, for example
the difference between emergingmarkets and thedeveloped countries. Butwhatwe
want to showhere is the increasingawarenessand recognitionof theenvironmental
issueinpublic,politicsandalsobusiness.
Majorworldwideincidents
Business iswithoutdoubtamajorstakeholder inthediscussionaboutenvironmental
issuesandthereforemustbeanimportantpartofthesolution.Inthiscontexthere,we
wouldliketoshowhowcompanyrelatedincidentscanevolvetoaglobalcognitionof
environmental issues. For this reason, two stories have been chosen andwill be de‐
scribed.Ofcourse,therewouldhavebeenalotofothercasestoincludehere,however,
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 7
these two incidentsaresupposedtoshowthechangingpublicperceptionofenviron‐
mentalissues.
Apopularcaseforthedemonstrationoftheeffectofbusinessactionsandtheirimpact
onpublicperceptionisthecaseofShellUKintheyear1995.Zyglidopoulos(2002)de‐
scribesthecircumstancesandimpactofthecase.Itallbegunwiththedecommission‐
ingofaoilplatformlocated intheNorthSea.Afterconsultationof localgovernments
andinterestgroupsShelldecidedtodisposeoftheplatformthroughadeep‐waterdis‐
posal.Howeverthisdecisionledtoabigpublicdiscussionandoppositionagainstthis
wayofdecommissioning.Asasortofenvironmentallawyer,theNGOGreenpeacetook
theroleofdiscussionleader.Finallywiththesupportofpolitics,publicandmediathe
bigShellCompanywasforcedtochooseanalternativewayofdisposal.Thiscaseshows
ontheonehand,thatintherecentyears,publicandNGOshavebeenabletopressure
bigmultinationalcompaniestowardsenvironmentalbehavior.Andontheotherhand,
that unmindful business action that damages the environment can lead to enormous
lossincompanyreputation.
Amost recent case that occurred in the current year 2010presents the immense oil
spill intheGolfofMexicointheUSA.Anaccidentduringdeep‐waterdrillingcauseda
giantoilspill inspringandsummer2010intheMexicanGulf.Likeintheothercases,
this researchdoesnotwant toexamineany technicalor legal factsbut showthe tre‐
mendousglobal response to this incident.A lookat theNewYorkTimes (2010, June
26th)presentsthereportofday66aftertheaccident.Atthistime,thetechnicalprob‐
lemhaDnotbeen clearly solvedyet, but thepublic and legaldispute about guilt and
reparationfineswasalreadyinprogresswithhighpublicity.Themaincriticismagainst
BPwastheactingwithoutplanandtheunclearandaimlessriskallocationandmitiga‐
tionbetweenthepartnercompaniesinvolved.Uptonow,theBPgrouphaslostmore
than$100billion inmarketvalue,eventhough it isnotyetclear ifandhowlongthis
negativeeffectwillholdon.Butwhatisclearthatthisaccidentcausedagreatechoin
thepublic.Atthattimetheoilspillwaseverywhere.Newspapersprovidedinteractive
realtimematerialsandlivevideoswereavailableontheworldwideweb.Thisisalso
what the Newspaper The Daily Herald – Tribune (2010, June 17th) highlighted in its
article.Theyshowedthattheoilspillwasspreadallovertheworldinsocialnetworks
andwas therefore in everybody’smind andpresence,mainly of course in a negative
manner.
This section has shown, that in combinationwith emerging telecommunication tech‐
nologies, whichmake news and scientific facts available almost immediately and all
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 8
overtheworldincombinationwithscholar’s findingsandpoliticdebateshouldmake
theenvironmentalissuetoahottopiconeachmanager’sagenda.
Fig.1:IllustrationoftheGreenWave.
Allconsidered,theinfluencesandevolutionsoverthelasttwentyyearscanbeseenasa
‘green wave’. Recent incidents in the world like Shell’s Brent Spar, the Hurricane
KathrinaorthecurrentoilspillintheGolfofMexicohavebeenbroadcasedthroughthe
newmedia to all over theworld. The resulting political efforts will lead to stronger
regulations.Theaccumulatedknowledge,sharedallovertheworld,willresultinmore
maturecustomersandpressurefromthemarket(Dunphy,Benveniste,Griffiths&Sut‐
ton,2000).Withtheknowledgeofbusinessimpactontheenvironment,thefirmswill
be more and more charged for its external costs, where no well‐defined ownership
rights are currently inplace, e.g. CO2 emissions,water and air pollution (Amber and
Lanoie,2008).
Someautorscallthisdevelopmenta‘megatrend’comingoverusinexorably(e.g.Lubin
&Esty,2010).Butwhatevertheevolutioniscalled,thesefindingsshowtheimportance
ofenvironmentalaspectsinthebusinessworldbutalsoofcourseasafieldofinterest
inthemanagementliterature.Thereforethenextsectionwilloutlinehowscholarsar‐
guetowardsthebusinessworldtohandletheemergingtopicformascientificview.
!""#$ %###$ %#!#$
&''()$*+%$,$
$$$$$$-./01$234.$526/778$,$
&''()$*+9$40:$,$$
;<6400/=>?.@$2?AAB1$,$
&''()$*+C$,$
DB7$*EEB:/01$F<7G$<G$H/IBE<$5-'8$$,$
JK<1<$'.<1<E<7$,$
&''()$*+!$40:$,$$
+B<$:/$;40/B.<$2?AAB1$,$
-.?0:1740:$+/3<.1$,$
•! 2A<@$47/.1=$
•! *EB:$.4B0$
•! L<7/=$B0$<M<0/$
74K/.$
•! F7<>47$N4.AB0@$
•! O<==$<G$
>B<:BP/.=B1K$
$$$$$$$L?..BE4B0/$J41.B04$5Q2*8$,$
3?>7BE$3/.E/3R<0$
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 9
2.2 TheEnvironmentalSustainabilityParadigm
Like the public debate, the research about the environmental aspects and business
strategyalreadyhasacertaintradition.Inthischapterwewouldliketodescribehow
thetermenvironmentalsustainabilityandtheaccordingadvisesformanagementofthe
business environment developed over the last about twenty years. In a first partwe
willshowthemoregeneralassumptions,findingsandideologiesoftheresearchinthis
area. Inasecondpart,anumberof themostcitedmodels forenvironmentalsustain‐
ability arepresented todescribe thevariety and the evolutionbasedon concrete ex‐
amplesofstudies.
Talkingabout theoriesandmodelsaboutenvironmental sustainability first raises the
question of how environmental sustainability is described in these circles. Scientists
doing research in theareaof environmental sustainabilityoften cite thedefinitionof
environmental sustainability based on the conferences and publication presented in
thechapterbefore,namelytheoneoftheUnitedNationsprogram.Inthiscontext,the
highestcredoofsustainablebehavioristonotactinawaythatthepossibilitiesoffu‐
turegenerationsareaffectednegatively.Thishasalsobeenincorporatedinthenewer
publicationsoftheWorldBusinessCouncilforSustainableDevelopment(2005).Based
on this definition scholars now derive their way of implementing this into business
strategy andmissions, to become environment‐friendly (Nidumolu, Prahalad & Ran‐
gaswami, 2009). Kolk andMauser (2002) explore in their review awide number of
different models of environmental sustainability. According to their research, some
authorsseethisasacontinuousprocesstowardsahigherlevelofsustainablebehavior
of the company, so called stagemodels.When researchersdonot assumeadevelop‐
ment over time,models are describedmore as a continuumof possible strategies or
simplychoicesbetweenequalopportunities.
Inanextpart,asampleofpublicationswillbepresented.Therangerepresentspublica‐
tions form the last 25 years and includes conceptual, theoretical and also empirical
research which is based on surveys or cases studies. The following overview of the
theoriesandmodelsissupposedtoshowthemostimportantconceptsinthisareaand
thelateststateoftheliterature.
Probablythefirstpublicationdescribingstrategiesforenvironmentalsustainability is
theworkofPetulla(1987).Thisresearchdescribesaclassificationofmodelsforenvi‐
ronmentalmanagement,basedonthesurveyof132managersofUSfirms.Petullaex‐
ploresacontiuumofpossiblestrategies.Ononesidethestrategyofcrisis‐orientedbe‐
havior.Thismeansthestrategyofonlyinvestigatingwhenthecompanyisinvolvedin
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 10
concrete issuesor faces serious risks.On theotherhand the risk‐mitigation strategy,
wherefirmsconsciouslymonitortheirriskandtakesomeriskmitigatingactions.The
moreproactiveapproach isherecalledenlightenedenvironmentalmanagement.This
standsforaproactiveapproach,e.g.troughinnovationordifferentiation.
Incontrast tothismodel, thetheoryofHofstra,Timar,Verdonk,anddeWalle(1990)
represents the dynamic approach of stages of development. According to their re‐
search, the company startswith the stage of inspection,where the different require‐
mentsofregulators,investorsandconsumersaremetonebyone.Thesecondstageis
calledthetotalcompliance.Here,thecompanyisinlinewithalltherequirements.The
final stage is called total integration,where the ideaand thevaluesofenvironmental
management are completely integrated in the company. The disadvantage of such a
modelliesintheempiricalvalidation,whichismuchmoredifficultthanforcontinuum
models (Kolk &Mauser, 2002). However, through the definition of the stages as so‐
calledidealtypes,Hofstraetal.addacertaindegreeofflexibilitytotheirmodel.
Elkington(1994)describesanotherstagemodelinhiswin‐win‐winbusinessstrategies
forsustainabledevelopment.Inthistheorythecompanypassessixdistinguishstages.
Beginningwith thestageof ignoranceof themanagement, the firmdevelops through
thestagesofawakening,denial,guiltreduction,displacementbehavior, tokenismand
conversiontowardsintegration.Thelaststep,integration,representsthehigheststate
of sustainable corporate strategy. This theory is foundedby several case studies and
goesalongwithobservations,so‐called‘revolutions’inthemarket(Elkington,1999).
Whereas the focus of the firstmodelswas not somuch on the financial benefits, the
publicationofHart (1997) clearly argueswith financial benefits of adaptingenviron‐
mentalstrategiestothecompany.Inthismodel,thefirmhastodevelopfrompollution
reductionstrategiestoanintegrativepartofthestrategy.Whenfirmonlyseetheenvi‐
ronmentalissueasadanger,managersmissthechancetotakethisasanopportunity
tocreate financialvalue for the firm.This theoryhasbeenbackedupbyanumberof
casestudieswithinternationalcompanies.Inthiscontext,Porter(1996)highlightsthe
presence of strong environmental regulations as a source for competitive advantage,
sincefirmsarepushedtoinnovateandgainmoreefficiency.
WinnandAngell(2000)haveusedthemethodofanexploratoryfactoranalysistoun‐
derstand the strategies of corporate greening. The studies focusing on the internal
processesofgreeningdistinguishedfourgreeningtypes.Companieswithlowcommit‐
ment to greeningmay follow a so‐called deliberate reactive strategy.When commit‐
mentforcomplianceisshownfromthemanagement,butnotyetimplemented,afirm
canfinditself instrategicstatusnamed‘unrealized’.Byimplementingmoreandmore
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 11
environmental‐friendly components to the operations, the firms follow an emergent
activestrategy.Andfinally,thecompleteintegrationofgreenintostrategyandopera‐
tionsiscalledthedeliberateproactivestrategy.Withthisempiricallydrivenresearch,
WinnandAngelhavehighlightedtypesofcorporategreeningstrategies,obviouslynot
focusingontheindividualmotivationorthecontextofthefirm.
Aninterestingapproachinadaptinggreenelementsintothecorporatestrategypresent
Dunphy,Benveniste,GriffithsandSutton(2000),becausetheylinktheimplementation
ofecologicalsustainabilitywithhumansustainability.Thismeansthetrainingandin‐
vestmentinhumanresourcesideallygoesalongwithecologicalsustainability.
Inaccordancewith that,Rosen (2001)promoted inherpublication for theCalifornia
ManagementReviewsymposiumfor ‘EnvironmentalStrategyandCompetitiveAdvan‐
tage’ashiftfromcompliancedrivenapproachtoastrategicviewofenvironmentman‐
agement.Thisrequestsareformationofcorporatecultureandaswellseveralpractical
changesinprocessesandtools.
The claim for the transformation of business models towards sustainability is sup‐
ported by Doppelt (2003) too. In his stepwise approach of change management, he
suggeststoreplaceenvironmentalharmfulmaterialsinproductionandworktowards
theredesignoftheproducts,processesandservicestoconformtheeco‐efficiencyprin‐
ciples.
In the context of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which includes the environ‐
mentalaswellasthesocialsustainability,PorterandKramer(2006)distinguishare‐
sponsiveandstrategicapproach.Whereastheresponsiveapproachmainlyfocuseson
mitigationofharmformthevaluechainofthecompany,thestrategicapproachstands
foratransformationofthevaluechainactivitiesformorebenefitfortheenvironment
andthestakeholders.
ThestrategicversusresponsiveortacticalapproachhasbeentakenupagainbyLubin
and Esty (2010). They distinguish between two dimensions of environmental strate‐
gies.Oneaxisrepresentsthewillingnessofthefirmtoseeenvironmentalsustainability
fromastrategicor froma tacticalperspective.Ontheotherhand is theability to im‐
plementeither riskmitigationmeasuresaswaste reductionora realbusinessmodel
transformation.Bycombiningthetwoaxes,this leadstoafourpatternmatrix,where
LubinandEstyadvisetofollowastrategicapproachwithfocusonthetransformation
ofthebusinessmodelratherthanconfrontonatacticalriskmitigationbasis.
Thesepublicationsalldescribeapproachesfortheadaptationofenvironmentalstrate‐
giestothecompany’scorporatestrategy.Thenextchapterwillnowputthisinforma‐
tionintoonegenericdescriptionofacorporateenvironmentalstrategy.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 12
2.3 ImpactofEnvironmentalSustainabilityonCorporateStrategies
Theaimof thissection is toshowthe impactofenvironmentalmattersonthecorpo‐
ratestrategy in therespectivecontextof thecompany. Itwillbeshownthatenviron‐
mental issuesdonotnecessary influenceall companies the sameway.The corporate
environmental strategy depends on such factors as position in themarket, power of
regulationandtheperceptionofthetopicinthetopmanagement.
In general, the corporate strategydefines how the firmplans to act in themarket. It
includesavaluepropositionindicatingwhatthecompanyissupposedtodelivertothe
customers.Moreoverthestrategyincludescorebeliefsorvalues,whichdescribehow
thecompanywillacttowardsitsstakeholders.Therefore,thecorporatestrategyissub‐
jecttomanyelementssuchascustomers,competitors,suppliers,regulations,theavail‐
abilityofresourcesandalsopowerofthepublic.Thus,thestrategyconsistsofacertain
valuepropositionthatthefirmissupposedtodelivertoitsstakeholders.Andmoreover
the company promotes core beliefs,which reflect the values and culture of the com‐
pany.Confrontedwiththegreenwavedescribedinthechapterbefore,executivesnow
have to rethink the current corporate strategy regarding compatibilitywith environ‐
mental‐friendly requirements. Drivers for this evolution from the former corporate
strategytoanenvironmental‐friendlystrategyarenumerousanddifferacrossmarket
andindustry.Themostcitedfactorsforevolutiontowardssustainablecorporatestrat‐
egyareaccordingNidumolu,PrahaladandRangaswami(2009)andinsomepointsalso
DelmasandMontes‐Sancho(2010):
Emergingregulationsformgovernmentalside
Consumerpressurefromthemarket
Socialreasonabilitymotivesbasedonvoluntarybehaviorofthecompany
Strengtheningofthecompetitivenessduetovalueaddingenvironmentalinitia‐
tivesortransformations
In literature, particularly the last bullet point is empathized (e.g. Porter & Kramer,
2006). Themainmessage of this research is that environmental‐friendly behavior of
companies also pays off at the financial bottom line. These concepts argue that the
modification of the corporate strategy can create additional value, which can
strengthenthepositioninthemarketorcanbeearnedinliftupoftheprices.Thecon‐
sumerwillstillaccept the liftupof thepricesince theyaresatisfiedonanadditional
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 13
level of confidence. The confidence is related here to the feeling of the customers to
support environmental sustainableproducts andbusinesses and thereforebepart of
anenvironmental‐friendlyaction.Thishypothesisexpectsthatcustomersarewillingto
payextrapricesforsustainableproductsandservicesoratleastraiseloyaltytowards
theenvironmental‐friendlycompany.Thatisthecaseifthecompanychoosesarather
proactiveapproachandrealizesadifferentiationstrategycomparedtothecompetitors.
If the firm relies on a reactive approach, it is the situationwhere companieshave to
respond tocustomerpressure formoresustainableproducts (Henriques&Sadorsky,
1996). This pressure can come via consumer organization ormedia. In this case the
companyintheworstcasehastotakebackcertainproductsduetoenvironmentalin‐
compatibility.Inothercasesthecompanieshavetocommitimmediateimprovements
intheareaofresourceconsumptionoremissionsduetoproductionprocesses.
Overthelastdecades,environmentalissuesalsobecameapoliticalmatter.Duetopub‐
lic pressure and recentnatural crises and findingsby the scientific community, envi‐
ronmentalsustainabilityhasbecomepartofthedebatesincongressesandadministra‐
tionsallovertheworld.Incombinationwithpublicpressureandpoliticaldebate,the
degree of regulations and policy are rising continuously (Rugman& Verbeke, 1998).
Thistakesplaceoninternationalandnational,butonindustrylevelaswell.Therefore,
notallcompaniesfacethesameregulations,pressuresfromthemarketorcangenerate
competitive advantage out of the incorporation of green aspects into the corporate
strategy.Moreoverthepersonalperceptionoftheimportanceofthematteracrossthe
executivesdifferstoo.Asaconsequenceofthis,theimpactofgreentocorporatestrat‐
egycandifferalotacrosscompanies.
To illustrate thebasis environmental strategies, amodel of ideal typeswill be elabo‐
rated.Themodeltakesintoaccountthedifferentcontextsofthecompaniesandthere‐
foreshowstwowaysofadapting ‘green’ intothecorporatestrategy.Thenatureofan
idealtypemodel is,that inrealnocompanyexiststhatfitsperfectlytotheidealtype.
The aimof the ideal typemodel ismore todistinguishbetween the twodirections a
companycanchoose.
Themodelshowsthetwostagesofacorporatestrategy.Firstthemodelassumesthat
the environmental matters are not or insufficiently incorporated into the corporate
strategy of the firm. This first step therefore reflects the strategy without environ‐
mentalconcerns.Duetothereasonspresentedinthischapterthestrategiccouncilof
thefirmdecidestoincludeenvironmentalaspectsintothecorporatestrategy.Theen‐
vironmentalpartof theoverall corporate strategycouldbecalledcorporateenviron‐
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 14
mental strategy, indicating that the attitude, vision and strategy of the company to‐
wardstheenvironmentisspecifiedthere.
The adoption of green elements into the corporate strategy can now happen in two
directions.Thefirstpossibilitystickstotheexistingvaluepropositionandcorebeliefs,
butfigurativelyaddsagreenmantletothecurrentstrategy.Thisgreenmantlemeans
to considerenvironmental aspects in corporateactivities.Forexample this canmean
that the existing productswill not be changed, but in the distribution of the product
maybeconsideredannewwayoftransportthatismoreenvironmentalfriendly.Other
examplesfocusonwastedisposalorfacilitymanagement.Thisfirsttypecanbenamed
as“doingoldthingsinnewways”(Lubin&Esty,2010).Theoverallaimofthisdirec‐
tion is tomitigate possible risks and control existing environmental issues to lower
theirimpact.
Thealternativetothefirstdirectionistoperformatotalincorporationoftheenviron‐
mental‐sustainability across thewhole value chain and in this process, to holistically
change the value proposition and core beliefs of the company. An example for this
wouldbethemodificationoftheproductorservicesportfolioandtodeliveronlyprod‐
uctsthatareenvironmentalfriendlyinthefuture.Thedecisionoftengoesalongwitha
replacement of current production technologies and product lines. The second type
reflectsadeep transformationof theentirevaluechainof the firm.Therefore, type2
can be described as ‘doing new things in new ways’ (Lubin & Esty, 2010). This ap‐
proachconsidersenvironmentalmattersasanewchallengeandasanopportunityfor
newbusinessmodels.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 15
Fig.2:ImpactofEnvironmentalSustainabilityonCorporateStrategies.
The impactof thegreenwaveoncorporatestrategiescan,accordingtothemodel,be
described in twoways. Either a company can choose the type riskmitigation,which
reflectstheexistingcorporatestrategyinagreenmantle.Orthecompanycanchoose
thedirectionoftheentrepreneurialtype,whichrepresentsamodificationorevensub‐
stitutionoftheexistingvaluepropositionbygreenfactors.
In literatureonecan findconceptualandempiricalevidence for these twodirections.
Severalpublicationshaveeitherderivedalikewiseconceptualmodelorfoundempiri‐
cal evidence for this two directions. The following table shows a sample of selected
studies,whichdealwiththetopicofadaptingenvironmentalsustainabilitytothecor‐
porate strategy. The choice shall reflect the most cited models in this context. This
overviewincludesstudiesformthelast25years.Thetableshowstheauthor,theyear
ofpublicationandbrieflythecontextofthemodel.Moreoveritisindicatedwhetherthe
work has an empirical or conceptual bases. In the last two columns, the summary
showstherelationwiththemodelelaboratedbefore.Asmentioned,thesepublications
support the distinction in the two directions of risk mitigation and entrepreneurial
type.Whenthecitationsdescribeacontinuumoralargenumberofstepsordirections
ofCES,thentheseveralstepsareheresummarizedundertheleftorrightcolumn.The
modelsarepresentedinachronologicalorder.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 16
Table2:OverviewofEnvironmentalManagementModels.
Publication,Model
Context Method AccordingTypeRiskMitigation
AccordingTypeEnterpreneurial
Petulla(1987) ApproachestoEM
Empirical Crisis‐/Cost‐oriented
EnlightenedEM
Hofstraetal.(1990)
Stagesofcomple‐tionofEM
Empirical Inspection,[...] […],totalintegra‐tion
UNCTAD(1993) Managementapproaches
Empirical Complianceori‐ented(reactive),[…]
[…],Sustainabledevelopment
Elkington(1994) Stagesofre‐sponsetoenvi‐ronmentalprob‐lems
Empirical Ignorance,awak‐eningdenial,guiltreduction,[…]
Integration
Crosbie&Knight(1995)
Strategicoptionformanagement
Conceptual Donothing,de‐fensiveposture,[…]
Sustainablebusi‐ness
Hart(1997) EnvironmentalStrategies
Conceptual Pollutionpreven‐tion,[…]
CleanTechnology
Ehrenfeld(1998) EnvironmentalStrategies
Conceptual Businessasusual,compliance,[…]
Sustainability
Winn&Angel(2000)
Corporategreen‐ing
Empirical Reactivegreening Proactivegreen‐ing
Rosen(2001) Environmentalstrategy
Conceptual Compliance‐driven
Strategicenvi‐ronmentman‐agement
VanMarrewijketal.(2004)
Frameworkforcorporatesustainabilityandresponsibility
Conceptual Compliancedriven
Entrepreneurialdriven
Dunphy,GriffithsandBenn(2007)
Environmentalstrategies
Conceptual Compliancecor‐poration
Sustainablecor‐poration
Pedersen(2010) Corporateenvi‐ronmentalandsocialstrategies
Empirical Reactive–com‐pliancedrivenandriskavoid‐ance
Proactive–makeadifference
Dependingonthedifferentbackgroundsandthe focusesof the literature, theexpres‐
sionsdifferacrossthepublications.Thevarietyofexpressionscanbeseen inthe last
twocolumns.Besidetheexpressions,moredifferencesexistbetweenthemodels.The
relationofriskmitigationandentrepreneurialdifferacrossthemodels.Somepublica‐
tionsseethetwodirectionsasanevolutionaryprocess(e.g.Hofstraetal.,1990;Elking‐
ton,1994).Inthiscase,companieshavetogothroughphasesorstages,socalledstage
models.Otherauthorsseethetwodifferentpossibilitiesasoptionstobechoosen(e.g.
Crosbie&Knight,1995;Rosen,2001).Inthiscaseitisastrategicdecisionwhichwayto
follow. At this point, this work will not differentiate between the motivations and
causes for thetwodirectionsnorevaluatethetwoways.Whatthissectionshowedis
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 17
thatarangeofCESexistintherealworld,whichcanmostlybeassignedtooneofthe
twoidealtypeselaboratedinthemodel.
Thequestionstillremains,howtorecognize,whichCESisbeenfollowedbyacertain
company.Tobringthenecessarytransparencyintothereporting,agloballyacknowl‐
edgedframeworkhasbeenelaborated.GlobalReportingInitiative(GRI)isaframework
withtheaimofensuringafocused,trustfulsustainabilityreportatthecompanylevel
(GRI, 2009).GRIpresents guidelineswhat to report (e.g. environmentalperformance
indicators)andhowtoreport(e.g.datacollection).Theframeworkallowsthreediffer‐
ent application levels. Level C is for beginners, levelA is for advanced reporters and
levelBforadaptorswithrequirementssomewhereinbetween.TheGRIdefinesanum‐
ber of KPIs for different areas of business activities as economic, environmental and
social performance, the company’s impact on human rights, society and product re‐
sponsibility.Inthefieldofenvironmentalperformancetheframeworkdemandsinfor‐
mation aboutmaterial, energy andwater consumption, emissions andwasteproduc‐
tionandalsoabouttransportation.TheGRI3.0frameworkhasdevelopedtothestan‐
dardofcorporatereportsofenvironmentalsustainability.
FollowingtheGRIframework,manycompanieshaveextendedtheirexistingreporting
withenvironmentalmatters. In theirreports, theynowmakeastatementabout their
emissions,theevolutionofenvironmentalpollutionovertheyearsandtheirtargetsfor
reduction. The companies are forced to communicate their vision and objectives for
environmentalaspects.
GreenPerformanceManagementSystems(PMS)
A formalization of the corporate strategy represents the performance management
system(PMS).Sowhenthegreenwaveisaffectingthebusinessstrategy,thisalsohas
animpactonthePMS.AsabasisforincorporatinggreenaspectsinthePMS,currently
twomajor underlying frameworks are available (Länsiluoto& Järvenpää, 2010): ISO
14000standardsandGlobalReportingInitiative(GRI).
ISO 14000 family incorporates several standards for environmental manage‐
mentandreporting(ISO,2009).TheISO14001providesthekeyperformance
indicators(KPIs)fortheenvironmentalPMS.Thestandard14004providesad‐
ditionalguidelinesforimplementingandreportingthestandard.Furthermore,
theISO14000familyincludesstandardsformeasuringtheenvironmentalper‐
formance, green house gas accounting and verification and environmental
communication.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 18
Thementioned frameworksallowtodefineKPI tobe incorporated into thePMS.The
balanced scorecard (BSC) developed by Kaplan and Norton (2005) should be men‐
tionedhereasapopularexampleofaPMSinpractice(Länsiluoto&Järvenpää,2010).
Basicallytwowaysof implementinggreenaspects intothecorporatePMSexist.First,
the implementation of green aspects into the existing PMS, as highlighted by Figge,
Hahn,Schaltegger&Wagner(2002).Second,theimplementationofadiscretePMSfor
environmentalreasons,thencalledanenvironmentalmanagementsystem(EMS).Both
wayscanhelpdefine,monitorandmanagetheareasofthecompany,whereimprove‐
ment from an environmental view are necessary and therefore refine the corporate
strategyofacompany.
HavingthemodelofaCESinmindandknowinghowthestrategycanberecognized,it
is nowpossible to go one level deeper than the strategy. The next sectionwill show
howCESaretranslatedintooperationalprojectsandactions.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 19
3 CorporateEnvironmentalInitiatives
Theexplanationssofarfocusedonthestrategicleveloftheincorporationofgreenas‐
pectsintothecorporatestrategy.Themodelpresentedinchapter2hasshowndiffer‐
entdirectionsforCES.Oncethestrategyis inplace,operational implementationmust
followtoreachtheobjectives.Intheareaofenvironmentalmatters,therealizationof
thestrategyisputintoaCEI.CEItakeupwithacertainneedofthecompanyandreal‐
izesomechangesinthecorporationtoreachthesustainabilityobjectives.Inthefollow‐
ingchapter,theexpressionCEIwillbedescribedinmoredetails.Theinteractionofthe
CESwiththeCEIisoutlinedanditwillbeshownhowdifferenttypesofCEIcansupport
specificenvironmentalstrategies.Comingtothispoint,typicalCEIforthetwodistinc‐
tivetypesofCESwillbedescribedanddiscussed.
3.1 DefinitionofCorporateEnvironmentalInitiatives
After theadjustmentof the corporate strategybyenvironmental aspects the changes
still need to be implemented. The realization of a corporate environmental strategy
takesplaceviaCEI.ACEIhasthecharacterofagreenprojectandachangeinitiativeat
thesametime.ACEIconsistsofaclearlydefinedgoalandislimitedtoacertaintimeof
execution.During the rollout, theCEI is supposed to transfer thegreenbehaviorand
attitudetothecompanyandtheirstakeholders.
ACEIcanaffectdifferentlevelsandprocesses,organizationalunitsandpeople.Tode‐
scribeaCEI,next,aframeworkwillbeintroduced.Itisthepurposeoftheframeworkto
providethenecessarystepstocatchtherelevantaspectsofaninitiativebeingableto
assesstheimpactandtheaimoftheinitiative.Theframeworkconsistsoffiveareasof
investigation,asitisshownonFig.3.
Firstofall,itismandatorytoreviewtheneedsforaspecificinitiative.Theneedcanbe
basedonfiguresliketheratherhighemissionofgreenhousegasesorenergyconsump‐
tion.Ortheneedcanbebasedonpersonalperception,forexamplewhenthemanage‐
ment identifies a lack of general understanding of environmentalmatters at the em‐
ployees’level.TheneedprovidesthebaselinefortheCEI.Asanextstep,theobjectives
fortheCEIcanbederivedfromtheneeds.Theobjectivesdescribetheexpectedresults
oftheinitiative.IfpossiblethattheobjectivesshouldberelatedtocertainKPIformthe
environmental reporting.Withhavingclearobjectivesset, theresultof the initiatives
canbemeasuredproperly.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 20
Fig.3:FrameworkforCEI.
ThescopeofaninitiativecanbevisualizedusingPorter’svaluechain(Porter&Kramer,
2006).Anexampleofthevaluechaincanbeseenontheillustrationabove.ThePorter’s
valuechainshowsthecorporateactivitiesintwocategories.Onthefirsthandarethe
primaryfunctionthatreflecttheprocessofvaluecreationforthecustomers.Thisproc‐
essusuallystartswithinboundactivities,whereusuallymaterialsorservicesarepur‐
chasedfromsuppliers.Afterthevalueaddingactivitiesandsales,theproductisfinally
deliveredtoacustomerandasusuallylastpartoftheprimaryactivities,theafter‐sales
servicetakescareofcomplains,guaranteeobligationsetc.
Intheminimalcase,aCEIonlyaffectsonepartoftheprimaryactivities.Anexampleof
sucharathersmallscopedinitiativewouldbeagreenhousegasreductionprogramin
the inboundlogistics,wherethetransportof thematerials isorganizedwithenviron‐
mentalfriendlyvehicles.AnotherexampleforaCEIwitharathersmallscopewouldbe
an improvement of the isolation of the facilities to avoid unnecessary heating in the
wintertimeandthereforesaveenergy.
On theotherendof thescale,aCEIcanaffect thewholevaluechainandat thesame
time have consequences on the related support function. For example if a company
drivesazerowastestrategy,theinitiativeis forcedtoconsiderthewholevaluechain
form inbound until the installation of the product. Having such a big impact on the
value chain, procurement is somehow involved if for the reason of the CEI newma‐
chinesareneededandHRMissupposedtotrainthepeopleusingthisnewprocesses.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 21
Fig.4:Porter’sValueChain.
Source:Porter&Kramer,2006,p.81.
The two examples show only a part of different scopes and consequences a CEI can
have on the company’s value chain and according organization.What can be seen is
thatwhatevertheaimoftheCEIis,differentpiecesofthevaluechainareinvolvedand
thereforeotherstakeholdersareaffected.Inmostcases,theknow‐howandmindsetof
theemployeeshastobetrained.Fromthispointthisalsoshowstheimportanceofin‐
volvingthesupportingfunctionsinCEI.
Asafourthstep,thecorrespondingrolesandresponsibilitiesmustbederived.Thede‐
velopmentandimplementationofaCEIis,dependingonthescope,oftenajointeffort
of different parties.As the case studieswill show, the overall responsibility for envi‐
ronmentalsustainabilityissomehoworganizedcentrally.Itmightbeacommitteeora
team,butthisroleistheoverallcoordinatoroftheCEIinthecompany.Nexttothehead
functionofenvironmentalsustainability, thebusinessandsupportunitsare involved.
WhentheCEIisaffectingtheprimaryprocesses,thebusinessunitsplayanimportant
partinit.Anexampleisthere‐engineeringofaproductionprocesstooptimizetheen‐
ergyconsumption.Atthesametimeinalmosteverycasethesupportactivitiesareaf‐
fected. Especially when the employees training, compensation or organization is in
scope,theHRMunitisinvolvedbysomeextend.
The results show the effect of the CEI after the implementation. The effect must be
compared to the needs and objectives and therefore provide a feedback process for
further initiatives. After this rather generic description of the structure of a CEI, the
nextsubchaptersshowtherelationofthenatureofthestrategyofthecompanyandthe
correspondingCEI.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 22
3.2 ATypologyofCorporateEnvironmentalInitiatives
The ideal typemodelofCEI takestwoaspects together.Ontheoneside inchapter2,
thebasicsofaCEShavebeenelaborated.TheCESrepresentsthewayoftheincorpora‐
tionofgreenmattersintothecorporatestrategyofthefirm.InthemodelforCES,two
distinctivetypesforCEShavebeenderived.Ontheotherside,inthischaptertheprin‐
ciplesofCEIhavebeenoutlined.CEIaretheprojectsandinitiatives,whichhaveanim‐
pactonthecoreofthecompany,e.g.theemployeesorthevaluechainofthecompany.
TheCEIareinarelationwiththecorrespondingCESofthecompany.Thereforeinthis
subchapter, the combinationof the typeof CES and the systemof correspondingCEI
willbeinthefocusofinterest.Itistheaimtoelaborateonthebasisoftheidealtypesof
CES, which have been shown in chapter 2.3, a model for CEI. As a result of the CEI
modelitcanbeshownhowthenatureoftheCEIcorrespondwiththeCESofthecom‐
pany.
Asafirststep,someclarificationsaboutthefundamentalsofatypemodelwillbemade.
Theintentionofanidealtypemodelistoprovideanindicationforaclassificationofa
reallifeexample,whetheritisoneortheothertype.Thisusuallyhelpstounderstand
thepracticalexamplebasedon thesimplifiedunderstandingderivedwith thehelpof
theidealtypesofthemodel.Anidealtypemodelisnotablenorisittheobjectiveofthe
typemodel to explainonehundredpercentof the realworld.But inour context, the
ideal typemodelwillhelptoclassify theCEIencountered intheempiricalpartof the
thesisandprovidesomeupfront implicationsasabasis fordiscussion.Ofcourse it is
crucialtoassessthecontextofarealliveexamplefirstbeforetransferringtheimplica‐
tionsoftheidealtypemodeltothecase.Bydoingso,theidealtypemodelwillprovide
thebaselinefortheanalysisandthediscussionoftheempiricalcasesandcanfurther‐
morebetransferredtotheCEIwheneverwanted.
TheidealtypemodelforCEI,whichiselaboratedhere,takesasafoundationthediffer‐
ent types of CES presented in the chapter 2.3. According to this, CES can follow two
basicideas.ThefirstwayistypeA,whichrecognizesenvironmentalissuesasathreat
and potential risk. The risks have therefore to bemitigated and as a consequence of
this,itleadstotheconceptofacorporatecontrolstrategy.Thesecondapproachistype
B,whereenvironmentalmattersare seenasanopportunity to innovate thebusiness
processandtheofferings.Inthiscase,theCEScanbedescribedasanentrepreneurial
strategy.ThetwotypeswillactasabasisfortheCEImodel.
Inanextstep,theidealtypesofCESwillbeextendedbythecorrespondinginitiatives.
ThemodelassumesthatthenatureofCEIdifferentiatebetweenthetwotypesofCES.
So,thetypestrategyAwillleadtotypeAinitiativesandthesamefortypeBCES.This
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 23
relationbetweentheCESandtheCEIisbasedontheinteractioneffectsofthestrategy
andtheinitiative.CEIhaveimpactonthecoreofthecompany,forexampleontheem‐
ployees. Themanagement is committed to transferring the corporate strategy to the
mind set of the employees andwill therefore initiate and conductCEI,whichhelp to
implementtheCESinthecoreofthecompany.Fig.5showstheinteractioneffectsbe‐
tweenthestrategiclevelandtheleveloftheinitiative.
AccordingtotheidealtypesofCESandtheconsequencesforCEI,thismodeldescribes
twotypesofCEI.TypeAinitiativessupportacorporatecontrolandriskmitigationCES,
whiletypeBfostersaentrepreneurialenvironmentalstrategy.
Fig.5:ModelofCorporateEnvironmentalInitiatives.
Sincethestrategycanbesetdifferentlybetweenbusinessunitsofthecompanyitmight
cometo thesituationwhereseveralbusinessunitsofonecompany followadifferent
CES.Asanexample,thisisthecasewhentheproductionunitfollowsthestrategytoact
according the corporate control strategy and is therefore focused on riskmitigation.
Butatthesametime,theproductdevelopmentgoesanownwayofputtingtheireffort
intoenvironmentalinnovationofthevaluechainandthusfollowinganentrepreneurial
approach.Especiallyinhighlydifferentiatedcompaniesthiscanbethecase.
Asaconsequenceofthis,additionallytotypeAandB,thereexistahybridstrategyon
the company level,whereboth typeA andB arepresentunderone roof of the com‐
pany.Inthefollowingsection,thetwotypesofCEIwillfurtherbedescribedanelabo‐
rated.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 24
3.2.1 TypeA:GreenasThreat–CorporateControl/RiskMitigation
ItistheambitionofthissubchaptertopointoutthemostimportantaspectsofatypeA
initiativeandshowhowsuchaCEItypicallysupportstheaccordingCES.Toreconsider
thebasicsof typeAhereagain the importantkeypoints: typeACEI is related to the
strategytosee‘greenasathreat’.Asaconsequenceofthis,thecompanyfollowsacor‐
poratecontrolstrategytomitigatethepossiblerisksintheareas,wherepotentialenvi‐
ronmental issues arise. The nature of typical type A CEI will be assessed using the
frameworkelaboratedinchapter3.1.Thismeansthatfollowingaspectsareconsidered
todelineatethetypicalnatureofsuchaninitiative:Thecharacteristicneeds,objectives,
scope,contentandcorrespondingroles,whichcorrespondwithatypeACEI.
The first point the representative needs for an initiative in that context will be de‐
scribed.Companiesfollowinganapproachof‘greenasathreat’trytomitigatethepos‐
sibleriskviaacompliancestrategy(LubinandEsty,2010).Jabbour,SantosandNagano
(2010)described thisstrategy in theirresearchas thewayofmitigating thenegative
effects coming from business activities.While the company sticks to the rules of the
regulationorthecompliancestandard,theriskseemstobeundercontrol.Therefore,a
typeAinitiativecanbaseontheneedofbeingcompliantwithregulationsorstandards.
In awider context, theneed canbedescribedas externalpressure to actmore envi‐
ronmental‐friendly.When the need is basedmore on the internal view, the need for
costsavingcanbethebaseforaninitiative.Especiallyinthecontextofrisingpricesfor
energyandfuelthiscontextcanbetheneedforatypeACEI.Afurtherneedcouldbe
therecognitionofareas,wherebusinessactivitiescurrentlycausedamagetotheenvi‐
ronment,butwhichhasnoimpactonthefinancialbottomlineofthecompanybecause
it might not be related to extra costs for the company yet. But with the increasing
awarenessforenvironmentalissuesinpublicandadministrationitcouldpotentiallybe
acauseforexpensesinfutureandthereforeevokeacurrentriskforthecompany.This
canbethecaseforgreenhousegasemissions,wastewaterdispreadordisposalofcer‐
tainwastematerials.
Thekeypoints represent typicalneeds fora typeACEI.Theneedscanbe translated
into characteristic objectives of the initiatives. With the implementation of a CEI, a
companymightexpect:
Hands‐onsolutionstomitigatenegativeeffectsonthecosts
Achievingcompliancewithregulationsandstandards
ImprovementsinspecificenvironmentalKPI,e.g.greenhousegasemissions
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 25
Thescopeisthereforeringfencedaroundaspecificproblemorrisk.Asampleofsev‐
eralCEIinonecompanycanbelooselydistributedoverthedifferentareasofthefirm,
e.g.oneCEIwithfacilitymanagement,onewiththeproductdevelopmentandonwith
thedepartmentofafter‐salesservces.LubinandEsty(2010)describeinitiativesinthat
contexttohavethelookandfeeloftacticalprogramsindifferentareasofthefirm.The
figurebellowshowsthedistributionof theCEI in theconceptofPorter’svaluechain.
Eachgreensquarerepresentsaninitiativeinaspecificareaofthefirm.
Fig.6:TypicalCEIfortype1–greenasathreat.
Source:AdaptedfromPorter&Kramer,2006.
The illustration shows the maximum number of possible initiatives over the value
chain.Of course this is rarely the case.Often themanagement focuses theCEI in the
areasofthehighestimpactpotentialontheorganizationandthebottomline.
Withintheinitiatives,thewaytothesolutionisproblemidentificationandadedicated
problem solving. Therefore also the roles and responsibilities are organized in that
way.Thepositionresponsibleforsustainability,thismightbeapersonoracommittee,
will identify and steer the areasof investigation.Theproblem solving takesplaceon
the lower levels. The management‐by‐objectives might be a corresponding steering
logic.Thetargetwillbecentrallysetandtheexecutionhappenswithintheunits.Arisk
of theseparationof identification,steeringandexecutionmightbe theorganizational
separationandthemissingtransferfortherootcauseoftheenvironmentalissue.The
question,whythisisimportanttothecompanymightbelessimportantthanthesolv‐
ingoftheproblem.Fromaleadershippointofview,thismightbedescribedastransac‐
tionalcontextratherthanatransformationalcontext(Brass&Riggio,2006).
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 26
3.2.2 TypeB:GreenasOpportunity–Entrepreneurial
ThefollowingsubchapterwilldescribethetypicaldetailsofaCEIaccordingtotypeB.
Inthiscase,theunderlyingCESisfocusedonanentrepreneurialapproachincontribu‐
tionwithenvironmentalmatters.Theconfrontationwithenvironmentalissuesisseen
asanopportunity.Thecompanyiswillingtochangedeeplywithregardstothevalue
propositionandthecorebeliefs.Thereforeaninitiativeinthatcontextismorecomplex
andistouchingonmorelevelsthanaCEIdescribedinthechapterbefore.
Thedocumentationwill follow thesame frameworkas theoneelaborated in chapter
3.1.ItwillstartwiththeexplorationofthecorrespondingneedsforaCEIandthengo
over to theaccordingobjectives.After that, thetypicalscopeandcontentwillbeout‐
lined.Finallytherolesandresponsibilitiesare identified. It is the intentionofthefol‐
lowingexplanationstoimpartafeelingfortypicalCEI,whichsupportatypeBstrategy.
WhilefortypeAitwastheneedtobecompliant,typeBgoesonestepfurther.TypeB
initiatives tackle the need of transformation of the company to an environmental
friendlybusiness.Tobecompliantisrelatedtosatisfyminimumrequirements.ButCEI
for typeB choose theway to achievemuchmore than theminimumrequiredby the
stakeholders.Inthiscase,thecompanyiswillingtorethinkcurrentprocessesandways
ofwork.Itistheneedtoestablishenvironmentalfriendlybehaviorona‘sophisticated’
level. In terms of financial figures type B initiatives focus on long‐term profitability
improvements. Since deep transformations only become effectivewith the change of
the mind set of the employee and the management, the need for awareness raising
mightberelevantforCEIfortypeB.
Thecorrespondingobjectivescanthereforealsobedifferentiatedontwolevels:First,
theobjective tobring the companyone step forward to environmental‐friendlybusi‐
nessbehaviorandprocesses.Second,thereisthetargettoraisetheunderstandingand
the relevance of environmentalmatters at the employees’ level. In otherwords: The
objectives can rely on hard factors as improvements on KPIs of the environmental
sustainability reportingor the financialbottom lineandat the same timealsoon the
softfactorsside.CEIfortypeBthereforealsotargetpositiveeffectsoncommitmentof
theemployees,trustandmotivation.
ThetypicalscopeandcontextofatypeBinitiativeismuchwiderandextensivethana
typeACEI.Thesuccessfultransformationonacompanycanonlybeachievedwhenthe
wholevaluechainincludingallprimaryfunctionsandsupportfunctionsareinvolved.
ThisrequiresanintegratedconceptforCEIoverthecompanyandanexpandedscope
of the initiative.This canbe realizedwith alignedprojects through the companyand
theintegrationofthesupportfunctionstotheinitiatives.Fig.7showsthescopeonthe
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 27
valuechainofPorter.Ascanbeseenhere,thescopeisnotlimitedtoacertainunitor
function,butshouldbeoneCIEacrossbusinessunitsandfunctions.
Fig.7:TypicalCEIfortype2–greenasanopportunity.
Source:AdaptedfromPorter&Kramer,2006.
Ofcourse, thecontextsof theCIEhavetobespecifiedtothesituationofthebusiness
unitorfunction.Sothecontentoftheinitiativecandifferacrossthecompanytoguar‐
anteetherelevanceof theconnectionof themattertothespecific jobsandtasks.But
theillustrationwantstoshowthatthetopicenvironmentalsustainabilityintypeBini‐
tiativesdoesn’tknowanybordersorlimitation.ACIEaffectsallpartsofthecompany.
RegardingtheconcretecontentofaninitiativetheCIEshouldconsiderthetwolevelsof
objectives.Ontheonehandtheimpartmentofthegeneralunderstandingoftheimpor‐
tanceandontheotherhandtoshowwhereandhowenvironmentalsustainabilitymat‐
tersatthespecificplaceofthecompany.
Comingtotherolesandresponsibilities,wherethemorecomplexprocessincompari‐
sonwithatypeAinitiativemattersagain.ForatypeBinitiativeitiscrucialtobringthe
affectedstakeholderstooneplaceandtointegratethemintotheprocessformthevery
beginning. planning, target setting and execution should be close together to benefit
frominteractioneffects.TheprocessofthedevelopmentandtheconductionofatypeB
CIE ismorerelated toa iterativeprocessof revision, trialand innovation towardsan
environmental sustainablebusiness. In theconstructof the initiative,with regards to
the leadership style, in this case it more conforms a transformational style than a
transactionalmethod(Brass&Riggio,2006).
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 28
3.2.3 HybridFormofAandBwithinOneCorporateStrategy
AnadditionalcaseofCESwithcorrespondinginitiativeshowsthefollowingillustration.
The strategy usually takes place at the business unit level – especially in diversified
companies (Porter, 2008). If one business unit, here called division, sticks to the old
production technologies and products and the other division has managed to
reengineer, innovateandcreatenewbusinessopportunities, thecompanycomes into
the situation where different environmental strategies are in place within the same
company. This situationmay occur, if the investment cycles within division one are
ratherlongsothatthemanagementisnotabletoreactinamoreproactivewaytoen‐
vironmentalmatters. Fig. 8outlines the situationwithdifferentCESwithinone com‐
pany.Inthiscase,thedivision1followsthetypeAstrategy.Division3hasincorporated
thetypeBstrategy.
Fig.8:Typehybrid–bothformsofCIEwithinonecompany.
Notsurprisingly,thedifferentCESalsocorrespondtoothertypeofCEI.Theneedsand
theobjectivesvarybetweenthebusinessunits.Thishasanimpactonthenatureofthe
CEI in the respective areas.TheCEI therefore create adistinctive culture andunder‐
standingofenvironmentalissuesacrosstheunits.Asalogicalresult,a‘parallelworld’
in termsofenvironmentalmanagementwillbecreated– leading to twodifferentap‐
proachesforCEIwithinonecompany.Theenvironmentalmanagementforthattypeof
companythereforeincorporatesbothtypeofCIE.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 29
4 InteractionwithHumanResourceManagementPractices
TheHRMdoesnotonlyrepresentamajorinternalstakeholderwithinthecompany,but
it isalsoasource forcompetitiveadvantage(Wright,Dunford&Snell,2007).Marcus
and Fremeth (2009) point out, that especially the green competencies of the human
resourcesofafirmcanbedifficulttoimitateandthereforerepresentanopportunityto
achieve competitive advantages in the market. As a consequence of this, human re‐
sources should be considered as a strategic topic also in the context of the environ‐
mentalsustainability.
ThemanagementofthehumanresourceshappensmainlythroughtheHRMpractices
ofthefirm.BasedonthestrategicvalueoftheHRMpracticesitisthereforecrucialfor
thecompany’ssuccesstohavetheHRMpracticescloselyinterlinkedwiththecorporate
strategyofthefirm(Huselid,1995;Bowen&Ostroff,2004;Schuler&Jackson,2001).
ThisisvalidingeneralbutalsointhecontextofCEI.
Thepracticesbasicallycontaintheprocesses,tasks,modelsandconceptsofmanaging
human resourceswithin the company. TheHRMpractices correspondwith theHRM
functions.The functionsrepresent theorganizationalunits,howto taketheresponsi‐
bility forcertainpractices,sometimesalsoonlyapartofonepractice. Ifseveral func‐
tionsworktogetherinanetwork,thedifferentfunctionstakespecificroles.
ItistheaimofthechaptertodescribetherelevantHRMpracticesintherelationshipof
HRMandCEI,andtofurtherdescribetherolesthatcanbetakeninthiscontext.Start‐
ingwith thescholar’spointofview,Huselid (1995) identifies in thewidercontextof
corporatestrategyandtherelation toHRM, forexample theareasofemployeeskills,
knowledgemanagementandthemotivationoftheemployeesandtheaccordingprac‐
ticesas crucial for thecompany’sperformanceandsuccess.This chapterwillput the
generalfindingofthescientificcommunityintothesituationofCIEandwillbeableto
outlinethespecificsofthiscontext.Moreover,arangeofpossibleroleswillbederived.
Toconclude this chapter, some thoughtson theorganizational concernsof theplace‐
mentoffunctionsoverthecompanywillfollow.
4.1 EnvironmentalHumanResourceManagementPractices
AnumberofstudieshaveshowntherangeofpracticesofHRMthatareablecontribute
to the successful implementation of a corporate strategy in the firm. In this context
Huselid(1995)mentionstheselectionprocesses,incentivecompensation,performance
management systems, the employee involvement and training to be central for the
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 30
company’ssuccess.WrightandBoswell(2002)addtothesefindingsthetwofollowing
layersintheirview:ThemacroandthemicrofoundationofHRMresearch.Themacro
practices are related to concerns of the organization as a whole. For example the
workforceplanning,companywideskillprofiles, trainingconceptsandHRpoliciesas
the codeof conduct fall into themacro layer.On theotherhand themicro layer that
focusesonindividualsoftheorganization.Inthiscategorybelongforexampletheindi‐
vidualcompensations,recruitmentandperformanceappraisals.
Forthisresearch,bothHRMpracticeswillbeconsidered,onthemacroandonthemi‐
cro level.However, thepossiblepractices to take into accountonboth levels arenu‐
merous.Thereforethefollowing illustrationshowsthreepracticesonthemacro level
andthreeonthemicro,whichwillbe in focus for the followingempiricalpartof this
work.
Next, the sub setofpossibleHRMpracticeswill bedescribedanddiscussed. It is the
intentiontorepresentwiththesubsetthemajortopicsinthefieldofHRM,whichare
crucialwithregardstothedevelopmentandtheexecutionofCEI.Fortheaggregation
oftheelements,areviewofaccordingliteraturehasbeenconducted(e.g.Glavas,Senge
& Cooperrider, 2010; Lai, Cheng& Tang, 2010; Porter & Kramer, 2006; Shari, 2010;
Wirtenbergetal.2007).ThefollowingoverviewofHRMpracticesreflectsthesixmost
citedtopicsrelevanttothecontextofthisstudy.Inthefollowingillustration,theprac‐
ticesarepresentedwiththeirrelationtotheCEIinthecenter.
Fig.9:HRMpracticesandtherelationtoCEI.
ThepictureshowsfivepracticesbeingrelevantinthecontextofCEI.Threeofthemfit
intothedefinitionofmacropractices.Themacropracticesconcernorganizationwide
!"#$
!%&'()*$
+%,-.-/0$
12(-)-)3$4$
5/6/,%'&/)7$
!%&'/)8
0(9%)0$
1(,/)7$:3&7$;/.2<-9)3$
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 31
matters. In the situation here, the macro wide practices training and development,
companypoliciesandrecruitingareinscope.Themicropracticesconsistofindividual
compensationsandtalentmanagement.Thepracticesareexplainedinmoredetails.
Traininganddevelopmentareconsideredhereasmacropracticebecausethefocusin
this practice lies on the general training concepts valid for the whole organization
ratherthantheindividualopportunitiesofonespecificemployeeinthisfield.Themain
topicsinthisareaareguidelines,conceptionsandplansfortraininganddevelopment
possibilitieswithin the company. Training is considered as the preferred practice to
changetheskills,knowledgeandbehaviorof theemployees.SinceaCEIoftentargets
theimprovementoftheseareas,thetraininganddevelopmentpracticeisafieldtobe
carefullyconsideredwithregardstoCEI.
As otherpractice in themacro framework theHRpolicieswill be examined. This in‐
cludestheregulationsinwrittenformvalidfortheemployeesofthefirm.Typicalregu‐
lationsarecodeofconductorbehaviorguidelinesforenvironmentalmatters.Acodeof
conduct advises the employees how to act in the critical fields, as potential environ‐
mental, societal or legal issues. When impacting the organization with CEI, also the
written policiesmust be expanded, adjusted or at least empathized. This is why the
areaofcorporatepoliciesmatterswithregardstoCEI.
Asthirdpracticeinthemacrocontexttherecruitingguidelinesandregulationsmaybe
relevant.Inthisdomain,thesettingsfor‘whowillbehired’aredefined.Inmoredetails
thismeansthatherethequalitiesandcompetencesofacandidateareidentifiedtobe
successfulwiththeapplicationataspecificcompany.Thismayberelevantbecausea
changeintheCESandtheaccordingCIEwillaltertherequestedcompetencesandabili‐
tiesof theemployeesandasaconsequence,also therequirementsat the ‘frontdoor’
mustbeadjusted.
Thetwopracticesatthemicrolevelremain.Oneimportantpracticewithregardtothe
monetarymotivationoftheemployeesrepresenttheindividualcompensationsorper‐
formanceappraisals.Avarietyofresearchhasshowntherelevanceofthetopicandthe
reasons to position compensations as a strategic element of the HRM practices (Hu‐
selid,Jackson&Schuler,1997).Theeffectofcompensationsistofocusandadjustthe
organizations objectiveswith the personal targets of the employees.With regards to
that, thecompensationsrepresentacrucial fieldalso in the implementationofCEI in
thefirm.
As a last area, the practices of talentmanagement arementioned as being of impor‐
tancewithregardstoCEI.Thetalentmanagementinthiscontextdefinesthecriteriaas
towhat kindof employees are considered as highperformer and thereforepotential
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 32
candidatesforapromotiontoahigherposition.Withchangingvaluesandobjectivesof
theorganizationinrelationwithCEI,thecriteriaforbeingatalentmightbeinfluenced
too.Therefore,thepracticeofindividualtalentdecisionsisassignedasareaofinterest.
Thefiveareaspresentedherehavebeenidentifiedtoberelevantforassessingthein‐
teractionbetweenCIEandHRM.Theywillbetakenintoconsiderationwithinthecase
studiesandthederivationofthelessonslearned.
4.2 ModelforKeyRolesandResponsibilities
Thescientific communityof so‐called role theorists, forexampleAshforth (2001)un‐
derstandstheorganizationasasystemofroles.Therolesactinsharinganddistribut‐
inginformationaboutdesiredandexpectedactivitiesoftheorganizationmembers.The
followingsectionwillbreaktheviewofroleswithinacompanydowntothecontextof
CEIandHRM.ForthedevelopmentandtheexecutionofCEI,thecontributionofseveral
partsofthecompanyisneeded.Thesectionbeforehasrecoveredthemostimportant
practices in the area of HRMwith regards to CEI. Certain organizational units, here
calledfunctions,executethesepractices.Thefunctionsactinanetworktocontributeto
theCEI.Theaimofthischapteristoexamineaframeworkforthedifferentrolespossi‐
blytakenbythedifferentfunctionsduringthedevelopmentandtheexecutionofCEI.
SchulerandJackson(2001)proposeaframeworkforgenericrolesthatcouldpossibly
be takenbyHR functions.The frameworkwasoriginallymeant for the interactionof
HRM and business functions, and not in the specific context of initiatives. The table
shows four role descriptions reflecting different levels of involvement and extend of
understandingfortherespectivematter.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 33
Table3:TheKeyRolesandResponsibilitiesforHRProfessionals.
KeyRoles ResponsibilitiesontheJob
StrategicPartner Showsconcernsformultiplestakeholders,includ‐ing employees, customers, shareholders and thesocietyatlarge
Understands howmoney gets made, spent, andlostinaglobalcontext
Educates managers about the value of humanresources and the consequences of managingpeopleeffectively(orineffectively)
Innovator Helps the organization create an environmentthatsupportscontinuouslearningandcreativity
Createsnewapproachestomanagingpeopleanddoesnotonlyrelyonwhatothersaredoing
Collaborator Knowshowtocreatewin‐winsituations Sharesratherthancompetes Works effectively across internal and external
organizationalboundaries
ChangeFacilitator Anticipatestheneedforchangeandpreparestheorganizationforit
Thinks conceptually and articulates thoughtsclearly
Executechangesinstrategy Energizesotherstoacceptandembracechange
Source:Schuler&Jackson,2001.
TherolesasshownabovewillnowbetranslatedinthecontextofCEI.Startingatthe
bottom with the role of change facilitator, this represents the lowest amount of in‐
volvementinthetopic.Inthiscase,thefunctionactsasanexecutorandmultiplierfor
thetopicofenvironmentalsustainability.Asanexample,atrainingfunctionorganizes
the training sessions and enables thepresentation of the content developed anddis‐
tributed fromother functions to the employees. In this case, the function actswithin
thecorrespondingresponsibilitiesandputstheeffortintotheexecutionraterthanthe
developmentandinfluencingoftheCEIitself.Thefunctionisseenhereasaperforming
unit,preparingandexecutingthecontentoftheCEItotheorganizations.
Inthenextroleoftheframework,thefunctioncollaboratorgoesonestepfurtherinto
thedevelopmentoftheinitiative.Thefunctioncontributeswithknow‐howandexisting
processesoftheunit.ItistheaimtoseekandestablishsynergiesbetweentheCEIand
the corresponding HR practice. For example, a performance appraisal practice could
alignthe incentiveswiththeparticipationinaCEI.Sotheeffortoftheemployeesput
into the CEIwould also pay off at the compensations side. This reflects an example,
where practices andCEIwork together in a network and enforce the initiative to be
moreeffective.Ontheotherhandthecontributionof the function to theCEIhelps to
!"#
!"
!"
!"#
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 34
reform and innovate the HR practice by taking new, environmentalmatters into ac‐
count.
Theroleofinnovatorrepresentsthestatusofafunction,activelybringingtheirknowl‐
edgeofacertaintopicintotheCEI.Thisisthecaseforexamplewheninthecontextof
environmental sustainability the function acts as an information provider about the
environmental impact of the business activities. In general, the role brings external
knowhow and approaches into the development and execution of the CEI that deci‐
sivelyhelpstoaddvaluetotheCEI.
Asatoprole intheframeworkpresented,thestrategicpartneractsastheintegrator,
coordinatorandexecutorofthe initiative. Inthatrole, thefunctionactivelybringsto‐
gether relevant stakeholders of the CEI and sets the targets and the direction of the
initiative.Thestrategicpartnershowsunderstandingforthedifferentbackgroundsand
beliefsofthestakeholderandconsolidatestheirviewsintoajointeffort.
Thedifferentrolesreflectdifferentpositionsthatmightbetakenbyfunctions.Itisnot
necessary thateachposition is takenbyadistinctive role inan initiative. Itmightbe
possible that the strategic partner acts as facilitator at the same time. On the other
hand,twofunctionscouldcontributeatthesametimeintheroleoftheinnovatortothe
initiative. In that context, the strategic partnerwould integrate the inputs fromboth
sidesintotheCEI.Ofcourse,theframeworkdescribesonlyfourtypesoutofacontin‐
uumofinvolvementandparticipation.However,thetypesseemtobeabletosketchthe
severalrolestakenwithinCEI.Furthermore,theoriginalcontextofHRMfunctionscan
beextendedtoothercontributing functionsof thecompanywithslightlydifferent in‐
terpretationsoftheperceptionoftheroles.
4.3 OrganizationalConcernsforCorporateEnvironmentalInitiatives
Sofar inthischapter, therelevantpracticeshavebeenexaminedandwiththeframe‐
workfortherolesandresponsibilities,somedescriptionsofpossiblerolestobetaken
havebeenoutlined.Thequestionremains,howtoplacethefunctionintermoftheor‐
ganizationofthecompany.Thetwopossibleextremesrepresentthetotallycentralized
approach and one the other side the completely decentralized approach (Malone,
1999). The centralized approach represents an organization, where decisionmakers
aremainly put in the organizations heads, for example in the headquarter or the in
groupholdingorganization(Lashley,2001).Thedecentralizedapproachwouldbere‐
flected in a situation where the units have much freedom of decision and they face
muchautonomy.Thefollowingillustrationdescribesthetwoedgesonacontinuum.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 35
Fig.10:ContinuumofCentralOrganizationversusDecentralOrganizationofFunctions.
Likethefigureshows,severalallocationonthatcontinuumarepossible.Eachsidehas
itsadvantagesanddisadvantages.Drucker(1988)pointsoutthatgenerallyincompa‐
niesthereisthereasonableneedforcentraldecisionmakersintermsofefficiencyand
speedofdecisions.Butontheothersidetheknow‐howandtheinformationisincen‐
tral organizations limited to very few people. A decentralized organization can addi‐
tionallydevelopmorespecialtiesforthespecificcontextofthesituation.Druckercalls
this the organizational dilemma. The criteria to decidewhether a function should be
placedcentralizedorratherdecentralizeddependonthecomplexityandthespecialties
tobe considered in thedecisions, sinceamanager isonlyable todetect and interact
accordinglywithinhislimitedareaofexpertise(Harris&Raviv,2002).Forthecircum‐
stances of CEI thismeans that if an initiativeneeds special expertise of the situation
where theproject takesplace, a ratherdecentralizedapproach seems tobe effective.
The areaswhere a function can realize synergies across each other, should be orga‐
nizedwithamorecentralizedapproach.
ThissectionrepresentedtheconsiderationsregardingtheinteractionofHRMpractices
and functionswithCEI.The findingswillprovideabaseline for theupcomingpartof
casestudiesinthenextchapter.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 36
5 CasesStudies:LessonsLearnedfromSwissFirms
Thecases studies represent theempiricalpartof the thesis.Basedon the theoretical
frameworkofthefirstfourchapters,threecasestudieswillbepresentedtogainaddi‐
tionalfindingsabouttheadaptionofEnvironmentalStrategiesinthepractice.Thecase
studieswillexaminethedetailedstrategiccontextofthefirmanddescribeindetailan
initiativewhichhasbeenconductedover the lastyears.Aftera shortpresentationof
thefirms,thecorrespondingCEIofthecompanywilloutlinetheapproachandthere‐
sultsoftheinitiative.Aspecialpartoftheinvestigationsshowstherespectiverolesand
responsibilities.Thethreecaseswillshowthattheorganizationalsetupofeachinitia‐
tivehastobechosencarefullyandwithrespectstotheaimandtherequirementsofthe
initiativeand the contextof the company.This is justone lesson learned thatwillbe
derivedfromthecasestudies.Onesection ineachcase focusesespeciallyonthetake
awaymessagesthatwerereportedbytheinterviewpartnersorfoundduringthedesk
research.
Thefirstsubsectionofthischapterwillintroducethereadertothemethodologicalba‐
sicsofthethesis.First,thesampleofcompaniesforthecasestudieswillbeexplained
and discussed. Second, the section outlines the detailed empirical approach and the
procedure for theempirical study. Itwill bedescribedwhat interviewpartnerswere
chosenandhowtheinformationwascompiledforthecasestudies.Aftertheintroduc‐
tivewordsofthefirstsection,thethreecasestudieswillbepresented.
ThecasestudiesrepresentcompanieswhohavetheirheadquartersinSwitzerland.All
ofthemhaveaninternationalfocus,eitherbyhavingproductionsitesabroadorserv‐
ingtheEuropeanorworld‐widemarketswiththeirproductsorservices.Thefirstcase
showstheinitiativeofapharmaceuticalcompany,whichelaboratedanenvironmental
codeofconductthroughemployeeparticipationandthereforemanagedtosensibilize
the staff for environmental issues. The second case shows the training initiative of a
company in thematerials industry. The CEI succeeded in handing on the knowledge
andmotivating the employees, which is necessary to conduct a deep environmental
transformation to a green businessmodel. The third case describes an initiative of a
company in the cement industry. Although the core‐business process of the cement
productionisalmostintangiblefordrasticenvironmentalimprovements,thecompany
achieved the substitutionof traditional energy sources throughawastemanagement
solution,helping toachieve cost savings forenergyandat the same timehelping the
localcommunitywiththedisposaloflitter.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 37
5.1 Methodology
The section will describe the empirical approach for the case studies. As research
methodforthecasestudies,deskresearchandinterviewswithrepresentativesofthe
companywerechosen.Thedeskresearchdeliveredthepublicavailableinformationfor
the discussionwith the interview partners. The interviews have been conducted be‐
tweenJuneandAugust2010.Thedeskresearchincludeddocumentsandpublications
beingavailableduringthesametimeperiod.So,forexamplewithregardstotheannual
reports,thecasestudiesbaseonthereportsuptotheyear2009.Asfollowing,there‐
searchmethodwillbedescribedinmoredetails.
5.1.1 SampleofCompanies
ItistheintentionofthisworktopresenttheinitiativesandlessonslearnedfromSwiss
companies in the different context of the firmswith regards to strategy andmarket
environment.At the same time the companies included in the sample shouldbepar‐
ticipatingintheinternationalmarkettobeinterestingandprobablyknownabroad.To
excludesmallcompaniesfromthepopulation,onlycompanieswereconsideredwhose
shares are stock listed at the financial markets, for example at the Swiss Stock Ex‐
change.The firms inscopeshouldreflect interestingcaseswithregards to the imple‐
mentationofenvironmentalstrategies.Therefore,onlycompanieswithasustainability
reportwereconsideredforthesample.Thefollowingillustrationshowsthewayfrom
thepopulationtothesample.
Fig.11:SampleoftheCompaniesfortheCaseStudies.
!"#$%&%
!"#$%'%
!"#$%(%
)$"*+,"-$.%/0%12/-3$.4"0*%
1-567%4/#-$*%
1,#-"/0"8/4/-9%:$;5.-%
!"#$#%.$<$6=0>%*/?$.$0-%
/0*,#-./$#%
@5;,4"=50%5A%65B;"0/$#%
1"B;4$%
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 38
The figure above shows the criteria for the companies in the sample. According the
schema, three companies have been chosen. All the companies hold the criteria and
weretakenintothesamplefortheempiricalpartofthethesis.Thethreefirmsforthe
casestudiesare:
GalenicaGroup,PharmaceuticalIndustry,
Untermattweg8,CH‐3027Bern
GeberitInternationalAG,SanitaryTechnology,
Schachenstrasse77,CH‐8645Jona
HolcimLtd,CementandAggregatesIndustry,
Zürcherstrasse156,CH‐8645Jona
Thecompanieswerecontactedandrequestedtoparticipateinthiscasestudy.Thefol‐
lowingsectionwilldescribethedetailedresearchprocessfromthesampletothecom‐
pletedcasestudies.
5.1.2 ResearchMethod
It is theaimofthisthesistodiscover interestingenvironmental initiativeandlessons
learnedindifferentcontexts.Thisintentionratherreflectsanapproach,wherediscov‐
eringanddetectionisinthefocusoftheempiricalwork.Thereforeaqualitativewayof
workwaschosenandnotaquantitativeapproach(e.g.Gubrium&Holstein,2002).
Twomethodswere combined for the empirical process in this thesis. First the desk
research,wherepublicdocumentsandinformationontheinternetwerestudied.Sec‐
ond, personal interviews were conducted to gather the informal information and
knowledgeaboutthecases.Figure12showstheprocessoftheempiricalworkofthis
thesis.
Fig.12:EmpiricalProcessfortheCaseStudies.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 39
Giventhesampleofthethreecompanies,thefirmswerecontactedbyemailandtele‐
phoneand informedabout thescopeandthe intentionof thecasestudy.Asampleof
documentsto illustratethecommunicationwiththe firmscanbefoundintheappen‐
dix.Allcompaniesacceptedtherequestforparticipationandafirstworkshopwasset
uptosharpenthescopeoftherespectivecasestudy.Topreparethefirstmeeting,an
intensivedeskresearchwasconducted.Thefocusofthedeskresearchwasonofficial
publication of the company as annual reports and special reports, for example on
sustainability.Furthermore,newspaperarticlesandotherpiecesof informationwere
gatheredtocreateafullpictureofthesituationofthefirmbasedexternalcommunica‐
tion.
Thecontactperson for the firstmeetingwas the representative for the sustainability
topicatgrouplevelorarespectiveteammember.Itwastheobjectiveofthefirstwork‐
shoptoidentifytheconcreteinitiativethatwastobethescopeforthecasestudyand
todiscussthenextsteps,especiallyabouttheinterviewpartnerstogooneleveldeeper
into the information. Itwas the intention todiscover theCEI fromdifferentsides.So,
threedifferentpeoplewereapproached foran interviewabout the samecase. Itwas
theaimtointerviewmoreorlessthesamefunctionsoverthethreecases.Theguide‐
linefortheselectionoftheinterviewpartnerwas:
ResponsibleforSustainabilityatcorporatelevel
Projectmanagerorinvolvedpersoninthedevelopmentandrolloutoftheini‐
tiative
ResponsibleforHRM/ODconcerns
Takenintoconsiderationthatthesetupoftheprojects isnotalwaysthesameitwas
theaimtoshowflexibilitywithregardstotheinterviewpartnerselection.Know‐how
was more important than hierarchy. So when a teammember was more closely in‐
volvedintheCEI,theinterviewtookplacewiththeteammember,oratleastonepart
ofit.Itisadvantageofthisapproachthattheinformationreallyisfromthebasis.The
riskofsuchanapproachisthatthemanagementperceptioncanbeaslightlydifferent
one.Toensure that thegap isnota significantone, theoutcomeshavebeenchecked
and alignedwith information of the other interview partners. At least one interview
partnerofeachcasestudywasrepresentingatopmanagementposition.
Basedontheoutcomesandthedecisionsofthefirstmeeting,specifiedquestionnaires
withopenquestionsweredevelopedanddistributed to the interviewpartner for the
followingmeetings. The theoretical background for the conduction of the interviews
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 40
was based on the guidelines and suggestions in the work of Gubrium and Holstein
(2002),Marschan‐PiekkariandWelch(2004)andWeathington,CunninghamandPit‐
tenger(2010).
Itwastheaimof theempiricalpart togatherasmuchinformationaspossibleandto
developsomehypothesesandfindevidenceforthemwiththeinterviewpartners.The
methodofthepersonalinterviewoffersanappropriatepossibilitytoassembleagreat
amountofrich information(Weathington,Cunningham&Pittenger,2010).The inter‐
views were conducted face‐to‐face wherever possible. In the other cases, telephone
calls took place. For each case study, at least four sessionswere held that lasted be‐
tweenhalfandhourandtwohours.Aftertheinterviews,theinterviewpartnersagreed
tosomefollow‐upsforadditionalinformationsharingviaemailorphone.
Astheresearchprocessshows, the interviewstookplaceoneaftertheother.The in‐
tentionwas to rework the findings form the interview first before startingwith the
nextsession.Likethisitwaspossibletoreassesstheoutcomesfromthefirstinterview
withthenextoneandthereforedevelophypothesesandfindingsinaninductiveway.
This research method is called multi‐stage interviews (Marschan‐Piekkari & Welch,
2004).Forthedocumentation,thesameframeworkwasappliedinallthreecasestud‐
ies.Thismadeiteasiertofollowthearrangementofthedifferentcases.Thefollowing
tabledescribesthestructureofthecasestudies.
Table4:StructureoftheCaseStudies.
Name of the Section in theCaseStudy
Content
1. Introduction to the casestudy
Nameof thecompanyandsomebackground information,descrip‐tion of the industry, corporate strategy, brief introduction to theCEI,descriptionoftheintentionofthecasestudy
2. Presentationof theCESofthecompany
Vision and mission of the company regarding environmentalsustainability, assessment of the CES in the model for environ‐mentalstrategies
3. Description of the respec‐tiveCEI
Needs for the initiative, Objectives, Scope of the CEI, Roles andResponsibilities,ResultsoftheCEI
4. Lessons Learned form theinitiative
This section includes a detailed description of the lessons learnedformthecasestudy,mainlyfocusingonthreeorfourdistinctareasoftheimitative
5.DiscussionandConclusion In this section, the prerequisites for a transfer of the CEI and thelessonslearnedtoanotherorganizationarediscussed.Furthermorethe section reviews the impact of the CEI on the CES of the com‐pany.
According this framework, the case studies have been developed and compiled. The
followingpagesshowtheoutcomesoftheempiricalwork.Afterthepresentationofthe
cases,theoutcomeswillbeanalyzedanddiscussedinthenextchapter.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 41
5.2 CaseStudy1:Galenica’sCorporateEnvironmentalStrategyandInitia‐
tivesinthePharmaIndustry
Galenica is an internationally operatinghealthcare companywith its headquarters in
Bern,Switzerland.Thecompanywasfoundedin1927asapharmaceuticalwholeseller.
In themeantime, the companyemploys about1’100people and is stock listedat the
Swissstockexchange(SIX).Overtheyears,Galenicahasdevelopedtoahighlydiversi‐
fiedhealthcareproviderservingdifferentbusinesssectors.Fourfieldsofactivitiesde‐
scribethecompany’sstrategyandorganization.Theareasareshownontheillustration
bellow.
Fig.13:OverviewGalenica’sBusinessSections.
The different business sectors run under several umbrella brands and labels.4 The
business sector,whichproducesandsellspharmaceuticalproducts, is calledPharma.
ThesectorPharmahasdevelopedtoa leading internationalpharmaceuticalproducer
in the field of aliment iron deficiency anemia. As second division, Galenica provides
logisticservicestothehealthcaremarket.Thisincludestheoperationofalogisticcen‐
terinSwitzerlandthatisabletoservetheEuropeanmarketwithtransportanddistri‐
butionservices.Asthirdsector,Galenicarunsretailstoresforpharmaceuticalproducts.
InthissectorGalenicaismainlyfocusesontheSwissmarket.Asforthbusinessdivision,
Galenica provides services for databases and networks for the health caremarket in
SwitzerlandundertheumbrellanameofHealthCareInformation.
According to thedescribedbusiness sectors, thecorporate strategyofGalenica isde‐
scribed as follows (Galenica, 2010): It is the target of Galenica to be top in these se‐
lectedpartsofthehealthcaremarketintermsofexperienceandexpertise.Themission
toachievethetargetisthroughconcentratingonwhatismostimportantintherespec‐
tivesectorsandsettingclearpriorities.Galenicastrivestomeettheneedsoftheircus‐
tomers,partnersandshareholders.Intheannualreport,Galenicadescribeitscoreval‐
uesasfollows(Galenica,2010,p.10):
4ForadetailedoverviewofallthebrandsofGalenica’sgroupcompaniesandproductsseeGa‐lenica,2010,p.71.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 42
Long‐termorientation:TheGalenicaGroupfocusesitsactivitiestoensurethe
company’scontinuedexistenceoverthelongterm.Short‐termprofit‐oriented
approachesareoutofplaceatGalenica.
Innovation:Newpharmaceuticalproducts,strengtheningoftheexistingprod‐
uctrange,innovativeservicesofthehighestqualityandcontinualadaptationof
infrastructurewillalsoleadGalenicatosuccessoverthelongterm.
Focusonsuccess:Galenicaisasuccess‐orientedgroupthataimsforhighprof‐
itabilityastheresultofitsownefforts.
Flexibility:Galenica’sBoardofDirectorsandCorporateExecutiveCommittee
observemarkettrends,weighopportunitiesagainstrisks,andlaytheground‐
workearlyonforasuccessfulfuturebyfollowingaflexibleapproach.Inorder
togeneratevalueoverthelongterm,theyarealsopreparedtoacceptshort‐
termfluctuationsinresults.
Sustainability:Galenica’seconomicperformanceiscloselylinkedtoitssenseof
environmentalandsocieCEItalresponsibility.
In terms of environmental sustainability, Galenica takes the impact of their business
actionsseriousandhasthereforestartedandconductedanumberofCEI.Asanexam‐
ple of a CEI, this case studywill highlightGalenicas effort to develop and establish a
codeofconductat thenewdistributioncenter inNiderbipp,Switzerland.Thisopera‐
tions center, setup in theyears2008and2009, ispartof theLogictics sectorofGa‐
lenica. It includes about400 employees and creates a revenueof 2 bn. Swiss Francs.
Thisisabout80%oftheGalenicagroup,butonly20%oftheprofit.
ItistheintentionofthiscasestudytoshowhowGalenicawasabletosharpentheun‐
derstanding for environmental matters and establish a culture of environmental
awarenesswithminimalcostsofrealizationthroughtherealizationoftheCEI.
5.2.1 Galenica’sCorporateEnvironmentalStrategy
To understand the needs and the objectives of the CEI, the corporate environmental
strategyofGalenicawillbepresentedas follows.The firstpartof thisparagraphwill
outlinetheobjectivesandthevisionofGalenicawithregardstoenvironmentalmatters
andwillleadtoaclassificationofthestrategyinthetypemodelofcorporateenviron‐
mental strategies.Theorganization, roles and responsibilitiesof environmentalman‐
agementwill be described and illustrated by an overview of typical CEI at Galenica.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 43
This paragraphwill closewith remarks about thepublicity and the sustainability re‐
portingofthiscompany.
Galenicahassetacoupleofobjectivesintheenvironmentalarea.Issuesandconcerns
aroundenvironmentalmattersaretakenseriously.Galenicahasthereforedefinedtwo
overarching corporate environmental objectives, which are published in the chapter
aboutsustainabilityintheannualreportofGalenica(2010,p.76):
Definingandenforcingenvironmentalcriteriawhenpurchasingorconstructing
newfacilitiesorrenovatingexistingones;and
Raisingawarenessandtrainingemployeesintheareaofwastedisposaland
wastemanagement.
Inaccordancewiththeseobjectives,Galenicatriestoaddconsiderationsregardingthe
environment to existing processes, procedures and practices wherever possible. In
general, this canbe consideredasanadditionaleffortofGalenica comparedwith the
pre‐environmentalstrategyandaddsanextralayertotheexistingvaluepropositionof
thecompany.WiththeimplementationoftheenvironmentalstrategyGalenicastillsells
thesamepharmaceuticalproducts,butconsidersenvironmentalmatterswherepossi‐
ble.
Fig.14:ClassificationofGalenica’sCESintheModel.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 44
In thesenseof thetypemodel forenvironmentalstrategiesthismeansthat thevalue
propositionatthecoredoesnotchangethroughthecorporateenvironmentalstrategy;
it ismore a supplementary consideration of environmentalmatters in the reporting.
“Our employees act ‘green’ in their day‐to‐day behavior. All we need is gather their
effortandmakeitvisible”Mr.Henzi,responsibleforsustainabilityatGalencareports.
Theillustrationaboveshowsthetwodifferentstrategies,whereGalenicaratherrepre‐
sentsatypeAstrategy.
Theorganizationalviewofenvironmentalsustainability issetupas follows:Froman
organizational point of view, the steering of the environmental issues happens in a
committeeforsustainability.Thecommitteeconsistsofthegroupheadofsustainabil‐
ity,which is represented by the head of legal affairs. Each business division has one
memberinthecommittee.Thecommitteeisresponsibleforthesteeringandthecoor‐
dinationoftheinitiativesandthereportingconcernsofGalenica.
To gain a better understanding of Galenicas environmental strategy, an overview of
currentandpast initiativewillnowbepresented.TheCEIatGalenica typically cover
thefollowingareas:Facilitymanagement,waste,publictransport,fleetmanagement.
AsanexampleforfacilitysectionGalenicamanagedtoreduceenergyconsumptionvia
adjustmentson thebuilding’sclimatecontrolsystem.Through the installationofmo‐
tion sensors in the facilities Galenia achieved energy savings too. Galenica launched
wastehandlingguidelinesthataredistributedtotheemployeestoteachabouthowto
prevent unnecessary waste in the offices and recycling mistakes. At some sites, Ga‐
lenicacoordinatescarpools to thenextpublic transport station toavoidpreventable
carandtaxidrives. Additionally themanagement is incloseconnectionwiththecity
authoritiestogetbusstationsclosetotheGalenicabuildingsandattractivetimesched‐
ules. In termsof fleetmanagement,Galenica is aimed topurchase only vehicleswith
excellentemissionstandards.
Theinitiativesarereportedonaregularlybasisinthesustainabilityreport,whichisa
integralpartoftheannualreport.ThestatementfollowstheGRI3.0standardandindi‐
catesanumberofenvironmentalandsocialKPIsofthecompany.Asoneexampleofthe
environmentalmanagementatGalenica,thespecificinitiativeforthecodeofconductat
thelogisticcentreinNiderbippwillbeoutlinedinthiscasestudy.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 45
5.2.2 CodeofConductandEmployeeParticipation:DescriptionoftheCEIand
Results
GalenicahasimplementedanumberofCEIsoverthelastyears.Asanexampleforan
initiative,which fits intoGalenica’sCES, the case for thedevelopmentand the imple‐
mentationoftheenvironmentalcodeofconductattheproductionsiteofNiderbippwill
bepresentedinmoredetail.Theproductionsitehasbeensetupasageographicalcon‐
solidationfortwoformerlyexistingproductionsites.Asaconsequenceofthemergerof
the twoproduction site, new teamswere createdout of theold structures andproc‐
esseshad tobe adjusted andwherenecessarynewly created. In this environmentof
change,alsoaCEIwasimplemented.Thebuildingwasbuiltaccordingtohighenviron‐
mental standards so that the energy costs for heating and climate control were ex‐
pectedtodecrease.Alsoduetotheconsolidationofthesites,theprocessesweresup‐
posedtoreachahigherlevelofenvironmentalefficiency.Butonethingwasmissing.No
regulationsandnormsintheareaofworkplaces,transportandfacilitieswereavailable
atthattime.ThiswaswhentheCEIoftheenvironmentalcodeofconductforthenew
production site at Niderbipp was initiated. The following illustration shows the key
pointsof the initiative following the steps toanalyze theCEI. In thenext section, the
needs,objectives,scopeandcontent,therolesandresponsibilitiesandtheresultswill
bepresentedinmoredetails.
Fig.15:Galenica’sCEIfortheEnvironmentalCodeofConduct.
!"#$%%&#'()#*+%#,-.#
/"#012%345%6#('#*+%#,.-#
7"#8+%#93(:%#('#
*+%#
;<;4=45%#
>"#?(@%6#=<&#
?%6:(<6;A
1;@;4%6#
B"#?%6C@*6#
•! ,(<3)%*%#;D:)(5%D%<*6#'()#3(6*#6=5;<E6#F;*+#
)%E=)&6#*(#%<5;)(<D%<*=@#D=G%)6#;<#*+%#=)%=6#('#
F()H#:@=3%I#*)=<6:()*#=<&#'=3;@;4%6#
•! J;66;<E#%<5;)(<D%<*=@#)C@%6#=<&#)%EC@=4(<6#=*#=#
<%F@K#6*=)*#C:#:)(&C34(<#6;*%#
•! L=<&#(<#;&%=6#'()#)C@%6#
=<&#)%EC@=4(<6#*(#1%#
;D:@%D%<*%&#=*#@(F#
3(6*6#
•! MF=)%<%66#)=;6;<E#=*#*+%#
%D:@(K%%6#@%5%@#'()#
%<5;)(<D%<*=@#D=G%)6#
•! $%F#:)(&C34(<#6;*%I#)=*+%)#'%F#
:)(3%66%6#=<&#)C@%6#;<#:@=3%#
•! M)(C<&#>NN#%D:@(K%%6#
•! O(6*1(P#*(#6C1D;*#*+%#;&%=6#*(#
*+%#D=<=E%D%<*#
•! -<3%<45%6#'()#:=)43;:=4(<#
•! .D:@(K%%#)%:)%6%<*=45%#
3(DD;G%%#=6#6*)=*%E;3#:=)*<%)#
•! 9;*%#D=<=E%D%<*#=6#6:(<6()#=<&#
6C::()*%)#
•! .<5;)(<D%<*=@#,(C<3;@#=<&#L?#
:(@;3;%6#=6#3(<*);1C*()#
•! ?%D=)H=1@%#%D:@(K%%#
:=)43;:=4(<Q#!RN#;&%=6#
6C1D;G%&#
•! .<5;)(<D%<*=@#3(&%#('#
3(<&C3*#%@=1()=*%=6%&#
(<#*+%#%D:@(K%%6#
6C1D;G=@6#
•! 8=<E;1@%#=F=)%<%66#('#
%<5;)(<D%<*=@#;66C%6#=<&#
D(45=4(<#*(#6(@5%#*+%D#S=@%<;3=T6#
,(&%#('##
,(<&C3*#
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 46
NeedsfortheCEI
TheproductionsiteatNiderbippwasatthistimeinthestartupphase.Employeesfrom
thetwoformercenterswerebroughttogetheratthenewplaceandofcourse,alsonew
teammembersjoinedthefirmatthistime.Thematterofenvironmentalsustainability
wasalreadya topic tobeconsideredatGalenicaat this time.Theconstructionof the
buildingwasaccordingtohighenvironmentalstandardsandtheprocessesforthenew
productionsiteweremoreeco‐efficientcompared to the formerones.Butat theem‐
ployeelevel,thetopicofenvironmental‐friendlybehaviorwasnotyetinstitutionalized.
ItwastheaimofGalenicatogathersomepossibilitiesforimprovementsthatpayoffon
thefinancialsidetoo.Forexampleitwasintendedtoreducetheamountofwasteand
fuelthroughconcreteregulationsforenvironmental‐friendlybehavior.
Objectives
According to theneeds,Galenicaset theobjectivesondifferent levels.Firstofall,Ga‐
lenicaaimedtocreateacatalogueofhands‐onimprovementpossibilitiesformoreen‐
vironmental‐friendlyactingoftheemployees.Second,thegoalwastoraiseawareness
for the topic of environmentalmatters so far, that the suggestions for improvements
would come from theemployees themselves.Thekeywas to increase the awareness
through participation. As an additional point , itwas an experiment to see if the ap‐
proachofanenvironmental conductwouldsucceedand if itmightbeapossibility to
transferoftheapproachtootherproductionsitesandbusinessunits.
ScopeandContentoftheCEI
TheCEIaffectedaround400employeesworkingat theproductionsite.The initiative
started inNovember,2009.All employeeswere informedabout the initiativeandre‐
quested tosubmit their ideasand thoughtsonenvironmental improvementpossibili‐
tiesintoapostbox.Thesuggestionscouldeitherbesubmittedonpapertoahardware
postboxat thesiteortothevirtualpostboxviaemail.Theareasofpossible improve‐
mentshadbeenclearlydefined.Suggestionscouldbemadearoundthetopicsofwork‐
place,transportandfacilities.Thefollowingpictureshowsthescopeoftheinitiativeon
the Porter’s value chain. The topics of the CEI of the environmental code of conduct
refertothesupportactivityoffirminfrastructure.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 47
Fig.16:TheScopeofGalenica’sCEIinPorter’sValueChain.
Announcing a lottery had set incentives for participation. Every input automatically
tookpartinalotterydrawingwheretheemployeeswereabletowinabout$200five
times. The time for submittalwas limited to approximately threemonths. After this
period,thecontributionswereevaluated.
RolesandResponsibilities
Theoriginalindicationfortheinitiativecamefromtheemployees.Theemployeerep‐
resentativecommitteeisagroupofstaffelectedtodiscussconcernswiththemanage‐
ment representing the employees of the site. Realizing theneed for developing envi‐
ronmental regulations, the employee representative committee raised the ideaof the
initiative. Supportedby themanagementof the site, the committeeactedas strategic
partner(SP)fortheCEI.Thecommitteebroughttogethertherelevantstakeholdersand
mainlymanagedthedevelopmentandexecutionoftheplan.Asalreadymentioned,the
management of theproduction site acted as a sponsor and facilitator for theproject.
Themanagement,especiallytheheadoftherespectivedepartment,was integratedin
theinitiativeastheofficialspeakerfortheannouncementsandthepromotion.Forthe
accurateandefficientsteeringoftheprocessthedepartmentforprocessmanagement
waspartoftheteam.Theresponsiblepersonwasatthesametimethelinkandmem‐
berofthecentralcommitteeforsustainabilityatGalenicagroup.Withthetargetofcre‐
atingnewregulations for theemployees, thedepartment forODwasalso involved in
theinitiative.
!"#$%&'(#)*+#,-+,#.%
!"#$#%&'()(*+($%&,-)((+($%&+(."/012&2"-)31(/4&
/,$)'%0.*1,#-.%2)')3.$.'+%
!"#$#%&2"*25+3($%&02)+(+($%&*16,"(/)31(&/7/0"64&
4.-5'16137%8.9.61:$.'+%
!"#$#%&,2185*0&8"/+$(%&0"/3($%&,21*"//&8"/+$(%&6)0"2+)-&2"/")2*9%&6)2:"0&2"/")2*94&
;#1-,#.$.'+%
!"#$#%&*16,1("(0/%&6)*9+("27%&)8."23/+($%&;&/"2.+*"/4&
&'<1,'=%
>13"*?-*%
!"#$#%&+(*16+($&
6)0"2+)-&
/012)$"%&8)0)%&
*1--"*31(%&
/"2.+*"%&
*5/016"2&
)**"//4&
@:.#)?1'*%
!"#$#%&
)//"6<-7%&
*16,1("(0&
=)<2+*)31(%&
<2)(*9&
1,"2)31(/4&
@,+<1,'=%
>13"*?-*%
!"#$#%&128"2&
,21*"//+($%&
>)2"915/+($%&
2",120&
,2",)2)31(4&
2)#A.?'3%B%
C)6.*%
!"#$#%&/)-"/&
=12*"%&
,216131(%&
)8."23/+($%&
,21,1/)-&
>2+3($%&?"<&
/+0"4&
DE.#FC)6.*%
C.#9"-.%
!"#$#%&+(/0)--)31(%&
*5/016"2&/5,,120%&
*16,-)+(0&
2"/1-531(%&
2",)+24&
@2+6)27&)*3.+3"/&
A5,,120&)*3.+3"/&
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 48
Fig.17:RolesandResponsibilitieswithinGalenica’sInitiative.
As the illustrationabove shows, theemployee representative committeewasembed‐
dedinanetworkoffourcounterparts.Thethreefunctionsatthebottomactedascol‐
laborator(C).
ResultsoftheInitiative
The commitment to the initiative was high across the whole production site. In the
threemonthsperiod,160ideasweresubmitted.Ononehandsinglepeoplebroughtin
theirsuggestions,butalsowholegroupsparticipatedintheinitiative.Someteamscon‐
ductedworkshopstodevelopideasforthepostbox.Finally,123ideaswerecompiledin
theclosingdocumentoftheenvironmentalcodeofconduct.Thecodeofconductcon‐
sistsof22regulationstobefollowedintherespectiveareasoftheinitiative.Thecode
ofconductcontainsthefollowingtopics:
1. Generalintroduction
2. Workplace
3. Transports
4. Facilities
5. Legalvalidity
In thepartof thegeneral introduction, theenvironmental codeof conductpointsout
thecontextofthedocument.Furthermore,inthissectionthepaperdescribestherele‐
vanceofthecodeofconductasregulationthathastobefollowedbyalltheemployees.
Thesectionworkplacecontainssettingstobeconsideredwithregardstothecomputer
andtheprinter.Withsimplechangesonthemonitorsettingsforexample,thecompany
asawholeisabletosaveenergyandwithregardstotheprintmanagement,tospend
lesspaperfortheprintouts.
!"#$%&''(
)'#*'+',-./0'(
1%""2-''(
3)(4'0'$%#"',-(
56%$272'+8(
6*%7'++(
9.,.:'"',-(;(
1%""2<''(=%*(
>?+-.2,.@2$2-&(
9.,.:'"',-(
5>2-'8(
>6(
1( 1( 1(
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 49
Thetransportsectionofthedocumentcontainstheguidelineforthepurchaseofnew
cars.Itrulesthatcarswithlessemissionofgreenhousegasshouldbepreferred.Fur‐
thermore itengages theemployees touse thepublic transportor thebicycle togo to
workwhereverpossible. In thesectionof the facilities thedocument theappropriate
heating and lightning of the company building. The legal validity notice declares the
codeofconducttobebindingasof1stofJuly,2010.
All in all, the environmental code of conduct sets the guideline for environmental‐
friendly behavior for the administrative business activities. The ideas,which consid‐
eredother topics than thementionedones,weresubmitted to therespectiveprocess
owners.ThetrackingoftheseadditionalideaswasnotanymorecoveredbythisCEI.
5.2.3 LessonsLearnedformtheInitiative
The followingpartwill focuson the lessons learned form the initiative.As a starting
point, themajorobjectivesandscopewillberepeatedquickly. Itwasthe intentionof
theCEItogatherconcretepointsofimprovementintheareaofenvironmentalsustain‐
ability at the production site in Niderbipp.Moreover, the initiativewas supposed to
strengthentheawarenessfortheenvironmentalsustainabilitytopic.Itwasnottheaim
of the initiative tocreatebig costs.Rather,hands‐onsuggestions for savingsandrisk
mitigationswereexpectedintheareaoftheworkplace,transportandfacilitymanage‐
ment.Theresultsoftheinitiativeleadtothecodeofconduct,whichincludesguidelines
fortheemployeessupposedtoreducethecostsforenergyandfuel.
Indiscussionwiththeseveralinterviewpartners,thefollowingthreekeypointsforthe
successfulimplementationofsuchaninitiativeinthatcontexthavebeenderived.The
statementsareillustratedinthefollowingfigure.Thelessonslearnedarebasedonthe
experiencesoftheinvolvedpeopleintheinitiativeattheproductionsiteandalsoform
thecentralsupportfunctions.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 50
Fig.18:Galenica’sLessonsLearnedformtheCEI.
As the illustration above presents, the lessons learned can be summarized in three
mainpoints.Theitemswillnowbedescribedinmoredetail.
First,theinitiativewassuccessfulthroughthepositiveeffectoftheemployeeparticipa‐
tion.Ononehand,theideawiththepostboxtogathertheinputsfortheemployeeswas
initiatedby theemployees themselves.Theemployee representation team,which re‐
flects the footing of the company, initiated the idea, which was successful.
Empowerment ingeneralmeanstodelegate thedecisionabout theapproachand im‐
plementationof the initiative toa lower levelofhierarchy(Lashley,2001).When the
initiativeisfoundedontheemployeelevel,themotivationandtheidentificationforthe
topicarepersemuchhigherthanthoseatopdowninitiativemighttrigger.Andespe‐
ciallyinthesituation,wheretheaimoftheimitativeistogatherideasandsuggestions
thatarealreadyinthemindoftheemployeesorevenalreadyinformallyimplemented
somewhere, theempowermentof theemployeesreflectedanaccurateandsuccessful
methodtoconductaninitiativeliketheCEIofGalenica.
Second,once the initiativewas initiatedand reported to themanagement, theexecu‐
tiveshadtodecidewhethertosupporttheCEIornotandinwhichway.Inthecaseof
theinitiativeforthecodeofconduct,thelocalsitemanagementcommitedtheirstrong
supportfortheinitiative.IntheviewofMr.Clémençent,headofbusinesssectorlogis‐
tics,itiscrucialtoofficiallysupportaninitiative.“Itisimportanttoustoacknowledge
theeffortsandtheideasoftheemployeesintheareaofenvironmentalsustainability”
Mr. Clémençent says. The sitemanagement acted as a sponsor and promoter of the
initiative.Forexample,intheofficialannouncementMr.Clémençentactedasaspeaker
to underline the importance and the relevance of the initiative. The effort of the top
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 51
managementshowedtotheemployeesthattheinitiativemustbetakenseriouslyand
ensuredtheseriousparticipationoftheemployeesintheproject.
Asathirdlessonlearned,Galenicarecognizedtheimportancetosupportandguidethe
employees’ initiative with expert knowledge form central site. Once the CEI was ac‐
cepted and supported by themanagement, the processmanagement and the central
environmentalteamattendedthedevelopmentandexecutionphaseoftheinitiative.In
thefocusofthecoachingwerethefinancialplanningandtheschedulingoftheproject.
Furthermore,thecentral functionsactedascoordinationpartnersandenabledsyner‐
giesthroughtheintermediationofknowledgeacrossbusinessunitsandfunctions.The
combinationoflocaleffortandengagementtogetherwiththecompetencesofthecen‐
tralfunctionensuredthesuccessfuldevelopmentandexecutionoftheinitiativeaccord‐
ingtotheobjectivesandtherequirementsoftheCEI.
5.2.4 DiscussionandConclusionformtheGalenicaCase
Intheclosingdiscussionandtheconclusionofthiscasestudy,firstthequestionofpre‐
requisitesforthereplicationtootherdepartmentsorcompanieswillbediscussed.Af‐
terwards,acriticalreviewoftheinitiativewillanswerthequestion,inwhichwaythe
CEIsupportstheCESofGalenica.
Thetransferoftheapproachtoanothercontextdependsonseveralfactors.Thedeci‐
sivepointswillbediscussedasfollows.Togathervaluableinputsformtheemployees,
thepeopleneedtohaveacertainknowledgeofthetopicofenvironmentalsustainabil‐
ity.Lookingattheemployeesoftheproductionsite,mainlythepeopleworkingatthe
administration where involved in the initiative. This department represents people
with the necessary educational background that enable them to contribute to such a
CEI.Asasecondpointinthiscontext,thecultureofthecompanymustbereadytoac‐
ceptandacknowledgearegulationlikeacodeofconduct.Whentheemployeesarenot
usedtoactaccording thewrittenrulesandregulationofacompany,adocument like
the codeof conduct could lackacceptance from theemployee’s side. Sucha situation
could occur when people are not able to read and many instructions are provided
word‐of‐mouthorthroughpracticalapplication.This isnot thecase forGalenica.The
employeesofGalenicawork in an environmentof strict quality andbehavior regula‐
tions. To accentuate the importance of the environmental code of conduct, the legal
departmentdecided to include the environmental codeof conduct,whichwas elabo‐
ratedbytheinitiative,intotheoverarchingframeworkofthegeneralcodeofconduct.
Therefore,onlyifthenecessaryknowledgeoftheemployeesisavailableandtheaccep‐
tanceof awritten statement is given, the initiative canbe transferred to anotherde‐
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 52
partment or company. These twopoints are considered as the crucial factors for the
replicationoftheinitiativetoelsewhere.
Toconcludethecasestudy,thefeedbackfromtheinitiativetotheenvironmentalstrat‐
egy of Galenica will be discussed. As showed in the introduction, Galenica follows a
strategywhere environmentalmatters are taken seriously into account. Galenica as‐
sesses and reviews the environmental impact of its business activities and seeks for
mitigationandimprovements.ThisapproachhasbeenidealizedasthetypeAstrategy
in the framework for CES. Especially for the rollout of the CES, Galenica emphasized
that thebehaviorof theemployees isabitgreenalreadybecausethestaffconsistsof
people thathaveasoundknowledgeandeducationalbackground in thismatter.Asa
consequenceof this,Galenicastarted togatherwhatwasalready in thebehaviorand
knowledgeofthepeople.Astheoutcomesoftheimitativehaveshown,thesimplecol‐
lectingofideas–andofcoursethereworkoftheCEIexecutionteam–haveresultedin
anenvironmentalcodeofconductwithmoderateeffort.Thiscasestudyrepresentsan
exampleofaCEIthatsupportsthestrategyoftypeAbecausethecoreprocessesofthe
company do not need to be redesigned or revised. But the initiative sensibilized the
staff forenvironmental issues throughparticipationeffectsand incentives forpartici‐
pation.Therefore,theCEIofGalenicacanbeseenasaninitiativewheresustainabilityis
notthecorestrategy,butistakenintoaccountwholeheartedly.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 53
5.3 CaseStudy2:Geberit’sCorporateEnvironmentalStrategyandInitia‐
tivesintheSanitaryTechnologyIndustry
TheGeberitgroupproducesandsellssanitaryproductsandtechnologies inover100
countriesaroundtheworld.Theheadquarterof thecompany isbased inRapperswil‐
Jona,Switzerland.Geberit,whichwas founded in1874,achieved2.2bn.SwissFrancs
revenueintheyear2009.Inthesameyear,theGeberitgroupemployedapproximately
5,600peoplein67countries.ThecompanyoperatesproductionsitesinGermany,Aus‐
triaandSwitzerlandbutalsointheUSA,China,ItalyandSlovenia.Geberitmanagedto
develop to a European market leader position over the last years and faces good
growthperspectivesinNorthAmericaandAsia.TheproductportfolioofGeberitcon‐
sistsofsanitarymaterialssuchascisternssystems,faucetsandflushingsystems,waste
fittings,trapsandaccordingpipingsystems.ThegroupisstocklistedattheSIXandis
inpublicownership.SustainabilityisanimportantpartofGeberit’scorporatestrategy.
This includestheprovisioningofsustainableproducts to themarketontheonehand
andthesustainablebusinessbehaviortowardsthestakeholderofthefirmontheother
hand.
Geberit conducted a number of environmental initiatives. The effort of Geberit for
achievingsustainabilityreflects thehigh investments in trainingof theemployees for
example. Also in the focus of CEI arewaste andwater reductionmeasurements and
alsoenergyefficiencyprograms.Onasystemsandprocesses level,Geberit’senviron‐
mentalmanagementisimplementedinaccordancewithISO14001.
ThiscasewillfocusononespecificCEIofGeberitintheareaofemployeetraining.For
the last threeyears,Geberithasbeenconductinganextendedenvironmentandrecy‐
clingtraining.Theaimofthiscasestudyistohighlighttheimportanceofanintegrated
trainingconcept forachievingenvironmental sustainablebehaviorasapartofanex‐
tensivegreenbusinessstrategy.Thisexamplewillshowhowtheorganizationaldesign,
the roles and responsibilities in this CEI are able to transfer the values of environ‐
mentalsustainabilitytotheemployeesofaproductionsite.
5.3.1 Geberit’sCorporateEnvironmentalStrategy
Thecompanyfollowsanapproachofintegratingenvironmentalsustainabilityintothe
corebusinessstrategy.ForGeberit,sustainabilityisemphasizedinallbusinessactions
andwithacontinuingtransformationalcharacter.Environmentalconcernsarenotonly
takenasapossibleriskformitigation,butasachallengetocreatenewandinnovative
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 54
waysofraisingthevalueofthecompany.ThestrategyofGeberitconcerningenviron‐
mentalmatters is to innovate and become environmental friendly before an issue is
ruledbygovernmental regulations.Moreover,Geberit aims to create amore sustain‐
ableindustryenvironmentbyproactivelyapproachingpossiblehazardswithpartners
andcompetitorsinajointprocess.
Asanexampleforthecorporateenvironmentalstrategy,Geberitcreatesandmaintains
anextendedstakeholderdialogue.Thestakeholderdialoguerepresentsthediscussion
and alignmentwith Geberit’s stakeholders, namely the customers, shareholders, em‐
ployees,governmentalandindustryorganizationsandotherparticipantsofthemarket.
Geberitusesseveralchannelsforinteractions.TheInformationCenterisanimportant
part of it,where the company shows and informs about their products and business
activities,mainly for citizens, partners and official bodies.Otherways of stakeholder
interaction are fairs, forums, summits, and also personal contacts. For internal
stakeholdersworkshopsandtrainingsareconducted.Geberitmanagedtosetupacul‐
tureof constant learningover the last coupleof years. In average, eachemployeeat‐
tendedaround19hoursoftrainingintheyear2009(Geberit,2010).
With regard to the typology of environmental strategies, the approach of Geberit
matcheswiththetypeb.For typebcompanies, thechallengesofenvironmentalmat‐
tersareincorporatedinatransformational,innovativecorestrategyrepresentingeco‐
friendlybehaviorwithinthecorevalueproposition.
Fig.19:Geberit’sCESinthemodel.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 55
Withregardstothesustainabilityreporting,GeberitadaptedtheGRI3.0standardwith
the full extend (A+adaptor).Theway to sustainabilityand the transparent reporting
standardsalsohaveapositive impactonGeberit as an investmentopportunity.Over
the last years, Geberit has developed to an interesting share for investors who are
aware of environmental friendly behavior. The share of the company is listed in the
DowJonesSustainabilityIndex(DJSI)(SAM,2010).
5.3.2 EnvironmentandRecyclingTraining:DescriptionandResults
In the followingparagraph,Geberit’semployee training initiativewillbedescribed in
moredetail. The initiative is called the “environmental and recycling training” and is
conductedfortheemployeesattheproductionsiteRapperswil‐Jona.Togetadetailed
understandingofGeberit’sinitiative,thecasestudyfollowsthedifferentstepsshowed
in the illustration above. First, the specific needs for this initiative will be outlined.
Basedon theneeds, theobjectives for the initiativearedescribed.Thescopeand the
actual content of the CEIwill be described as the third step. And as a fourth step, a
modelwillbepresentedfortheseveralrolesandresponsibilitiesthatweretakendur‐
ingelaborationandrolloutoftheinitiative.Thelastparagraphofthissubchapterwill
highlighttheresultsoftheCEIandshowwhathasbeenachievedbytheimplementa‐
tionoftheinitiativesofar.Additionallytothestepsalreadymentioned,theillustration
showsthemostimportantkeywordsfortherespectivestep,whichwillbeexplainedin
thetextbelow.
Fig.20:OverviewofGeberit’sInitiativeforEnvironmentalTraining.
!"#$%%&#'()#*+%#,-.#
/"#012%345%6#('#*+%#,.-#
7"#8+%#93(:%#('#
*+%#
;<;4=45%#
>"#?(@%6#=<&#
?%6:(<6;A
1;@;4%6#
B"#?%6C@*6#
•! D;66;<E#C<&%)6*=<&;<E#('#*+%#;F:()*=<3%#('#
6C6*=;<=1;@;*G#
•! $(<A3(F:@;=<*#1%+=5;()H#%"E"#F;6*=I%6#;<#
)%3G3@;<E#
•! J*#*+%#6=F%#4F%K#?;6;<E#;F:()*=<3%#('#*+%#*(:;3#
(<#F=<=E%F%<*#@%5%@#
•! 8(#C<&%)6*=<&#*+%#
;F:()*=<3%#('#*+%#*(:;3#
('#%<5;)(<F%<*=@#
6C6*=;<=1;@;*G#
L*)=<6'()F=4(<=@M#
•! D=I%#*+%#=::@;3=4(<#'()#
*+%#(N<#2(1#=<&#*=6I6#
•! J@@#<%N#%F:@(G%%6#
•! .F1%&&%&#;<#*+%#*)=;<;<E#
3(<3%:*#
•! 8N(#:=)*6K#JN=)%<%66#)=;6;<E#=<&#
:)=343=@#=::@;3=4(<#*(#*+%#(N<#
2(1#
•! 9F=@@#E)(C:#*)=;<;<E#L>AO#:%(:@%M#
•! ,%<*)=@#'C<34(<#=6#I<(N#+(N#
:)(5;&%)#
•! P%3%<*)=@#*)=;<;<E#)%6:(<6;1;@;*G#
=<&#'=3;@;*=*()H#3@(6%@G#=@;E<%&#
N;*+#*+%#1C6;<%66#
•! D=2()#)%&C34(<#('#
F;6*=I%6#;<#)%3G3@;<E#
•! ?%&C34(<#('#6:%3;=@#N=6%#
•! J@;E<%&#F;<&6%*#=<&#=#
3C@*C)%#('#6C6*=;<=1;@;*G#
Q%1%);*R6#
.<5;)(<F%<*=@#
8)=;<;<E#
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 56
NeedsfortheCEI
Although the topic of sustainability has a quite a high importance for Geberit on the
managementlevel,attheleveloftheemployeesitlackedanappropriateunderstanding
ofwhatsustainabilityreallymeansforthedailyworkoftheemployees.Thecompany
decidedtoputthefocusoftheinitiativetowherethebusinessactivitieshavethehigh‐
estimpactontheenvironment,i.e.theproductionsites.Intheprocessofproduction,a
lotofsparematerialandwasteisproduced.Theinsufficientknow‐howoftheworkers
in thisareacausedmistakes inrecyclingandalso themissedopportunity for reusing
thematerials somewhereelse in theprocess.Thiscausedunnecessarycosts,because
thematerials had to be sorted again by otherworkers. And furthermore as another
example for theneedofanenvironmental training,at someplaces the incorrecthan‐
dlingofthemachinescausedpreventableenergycosts.Havingidentifiedtheseneeds,
Geberitdecided to launch the initiative.Theaimof theCEIwas to tackle themissing
know‐howandawarenessinthisarea.Sincemostoftheemployeesworkinshiftsand
themachinesarerunning24hoursaday,theinitiativeneededtobecarefullyaligned
withtheplansandrestrictionsofthebusinesslines.
Objectives
Theinitiativewassupposedtoraisetheawarenessofthesustainabilitymatterandto
showhowenvironmentalsustainabilityeffectsof thedailyworkoftheemployees.As
anexpectedresultofthetraining,themistakesinrecyclingaresupposedtobereduced.
It is the aim of the initiative to build an integral understanding of environmental
sustainability.Therefore, theenvironmentalandrecyclingtrainingisexpectedto lead
to further optimization ideas in the business activities. To illustrate the objectives of
theinitiative,onecanalsolookatthedocumentedenvironmentalimpactoftheGeberit
group,whichisalsopresentedinthetrainingtotheemployees.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 57
Fig.21:DiagrammonGeberit’sEnvironmentalImpact.
Source:Geberit’sTrainingDocument(seeappendix).
The figure above shows the environmental burden of Geberit in the year 2007. The
greatestparthererepresents theenergyconsumption,makingup89.30percent.The
obviouslyrathersmallpartsinthisgraphrepresenttheuseoffuel,theemissionsdue
toprocessesofmachines,thewaterconsumptionandtherecycling.Theverysmallpart
assignedtorecyclingisimportantfortheinitiative.Recyclingonlymakesup2.10%of
theenvironmentalburden,althoughGeberitusesa lotof resourcesat theproduction
site.Mr.Wydler,headoftrainingattheproductionsiteinRapperswil‐Jona,says:“With
thispictureweshow,thatrecycling iscrucial.Duetoadditionaleffort, thisnumber is
already possible. To reach this ambitious low figure without any extra costs of re‐
sorting thematerials, it is important to impart theknowledgeverydetailed andpre‐
cisely”.
ScopeandContentoftheCEI
AttheGeberitgroup,eachemployeegetsabasicenvironmentaltraining.Theinitiative,
whichisofinterestinthiscasestudy,goesonestepfurtherandrepresentstheapplica‐
tiontotheproductionsiteinRapperswil‐Jona.TheproductionsiteinRapperswil‐Jona
includesabout400employees,mainlyworkersatthemachines.Sincetheintroduction
of the training threeyearsago, theparticipationhasbeenmandatory forallnewem‐
ployees.ThefollowingillustrationshowstheassessmentoftheCEIintheframeworkof
Portersvaluechain.Thereisabasicenvironmentaltrainingthatisvalidforallemploy‐
ees.Therefore,ithasbeenintroducedverticallyinthepicture.Theproductionsitethat
is inscopeof the initiativecoversmainly the first threeprimaryactivities inPorter’s
valuechain.Sincetheinitiativerepresentsaspecialapplicationfortheproductionsite,
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 58
the additional remark indicates the focus on the three first primary activities in the
valuechain.
Fig.22:TheScopeofGeberit’sInitiativeinPorter’sValueChain.
Attheproductionsite,thepeopleusuallydonothaveadeepknowledgeofeithertech‐
nicalorenvironmentaltopics.Additionally,thepeoplehiredattheproductionsitehave
differentculturalbackgroundsandspeakforeignlanguages.Theserequirementshave
tobeconsideredinthedevelopmentofthetrainingingeneral.Thelevelofinformation
inallthetrainingsmustbeeasytounderstandandillustratedwithfiguresandnottoo
much text. The general training concept bases on three pillars: technical know‐how,
economicunderstandingandsocialcompetence,wheresustainabilityisoneimportant
point.Withthedevelopmentoftheenvironmentandrecyclingtraining,thesustainabil‐
itymatterplaysanaccurateroleintheoveralltrainingconcept.Toaugmentthelearn‐
ing effect, the topic of environmental sustainability is furthermore integrated in the
othertrainingsessions.Forexample,theenergyaspectshavetobeconsideredduring
thetechnicaltrainingforthemachinetoo.Therecyclingtopichastobeintegratedinto
theproductportfoliotrainingaswell.Bydoingso,environmentalmattersplayaninte‐
gral role in the overall training concept. The trainings are conducted as face‐to‐face
instructions.Theyareconductedinsmallgroupsof4to8peopleandalignedwiththe
shiftplanof theemployees.The trainingsusually takeplacebeforeorafter theshifts
withdurationofapproximatelyonehour.
!"#$%"&'%()*#)+,'
-.//0"1'%()*#)+,'
!"#$%"&'
($)*+,-+'
./012,$"+' 32140,")'5'
6270+'
8901:6270+'
601;*-0'
.%<#$%"&'
($)*+,-+'
23*#"03$+31%4'5"%#3#36777'
=*1>'!"?12+<1%-<%10'
8+7679':3%3(#369'/4%33#369'#3*+,10"'"+4%)03,;'
@%>2"'A0+$%1-0'32"2)0>0"<'
8+7679'"+(".#)369'1"%#3#369'(0$/+3,%)03',&,1+$;'
B0-C"$7$)D'E0;07$/>0"<'
8+7679'/"0<.(1'<+,#639'1+,)369'/"0(+,,'<+,#639'$%1+"#%4'"+,+%"(=9'$%">+1'"+,+%"(=;'
F1$-%10>0"<'
8+7679'(0$/03+31,9'$%(=#3+"&9'%<*+"),#369'?',+"*#(+,;'
777'%3<',/+(#%4'%//4#(%)03'
@0"'1=+'/"0<.()03',#1+'
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 59
Thecontentofthetrainingisasfollows.5Twomajorpartsrepresentthesubstanceof
the training. In the first place, overall awareness for the topic is increased. This part
introduced theparticipant to thebasicsof environmental sustainabilityas thedefini‐
tion of sustainability, the objectives of environmental management and the general
mitigationpossibilities.Inthesecondpart,theinformationisputintoaction.Appliedto
the specific tasks of the employees, the recycling of the different materials they are
handling isshownstepbystep.“Inourviewit isessential thatouremployeeshavea
deepunderstandingof thematerials they areworkingwith andhowandwhy things
canberecycled”Mr.Wydlersays.Eachsessionendswithaknowledgetesttocheckthe
understanding of the participants. If necessary, employees have to catch up on some
topicsandrepeatthetest.
RolesandResponsibilities
Thedevelopmentandtheconductionofthetrainingstandforajointeffortofdifferent
functionsandroles.Thenextparagraphwilloutlinethedifferentrolesinthisprocess
andwhatthecorrespondingresponsibilitiesare.
For this specific training, the four most important functions are represented by the
central sustainabilitycompetencecentreof theGeberitgroup, thegroupHR function,
thegroupresponsiblefortraininganddevelopmentandthebusinesslinesofthepro‐
ductionsite.
Theheadoftraininganddevelopmentplaystheroleoftheintegrator,coordinatorand
facilitatorofthetrainingsandhastheoverallresponsibilityforthetraining.Byhaving
thisfunctioninplace,Geberitwasabletointegratethetopicofenvironmentalsustain‐
abilitytoitsoveralltrainingplanfortheemployees.Therefore,thecloseconnectionto
othertopicsofthetrainingconceptispossibleandtheintegrationasanequalpartbe‐
tweentechnicalandeconomicaltopiccanbeguaranteed.Fromanorganizationalpoint
ofview,thetraininganddevelopmentfunctionisapartoftheproductionsitebusiness
unitandthereforerepresentsaperipheralfunctionofHRM.
Thecentralsustainabilitycompetencecentreisresponsiblefortheoverallsustainabil‐
itystrategyandthecoordinationoftheCEIatGeberit.Withitsdeepknowledgeofenvi‐
ronmental issues, risksandopportunity, this teamrepresents amajor counterpart in
thedevelopmentof the training.This includes thecreationof the topic list, thestruc‐
ture and the content of the training.With the expertise of the central sustainability
team,thissideisabletoreviewandfrequentlyinnovatethetrainingconcept.Further‐
5 For additional information about the training see appendix “Environmental and RecyclingTrainingDocuments”.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 60
more,thecentralcompetenceteamforsustainabilityactsasapresenterandteacherin
thetrainings.
The groupHR function plays an important role for the training aswell, because the
initiativeis integratedinthecompanywidetalentandincentivesystemsofthegroup
HRfunction.HRacknowledgestheparticipationinthetrainingwithcareerpathsthat
arealignedwiththetrainingprogram.Asaconsequenceofthis,thegroupHRcontrib‐
utes to the implementationof theCEIbysetting theright incentives forparticipating
andfulfillingthetraining.
Thelastpartnertomentionhereisthebusinessline,whichisrepresentedherebythe
managers and team leaders of the production site. The business is important for the
coordinationof theavailabilityof theemployees.Moreover, thebusinessreviewsand
supportsthetrainingprogramactivelytosettherightatmosphereforsuccessfultrain‐
ings.
Fig.23:RolesandResponsibilitieswithinGeberit’sCEI.
Theillustrationaboveshowsthevariousrolesbeingplayedinthedevelopmentandthe
conductionof the training.Thecompetencecentresustainabilityplays theroleof the
innovator(I).Aninnovatorisable,throughtheexternalexpertiseinthesustainability
topic,todevelopandcreatenewtrainingsforthecompany.ThegroupHRcontributes
withtheintegrationofthetrainingconceptintheircareerpathsandincentivesystems.
ThereforethegroupHRtakestheroleascontributor.Thestrategicpartner(SP)inthe
middlestandsforthetraininganddevelopmentfunctionoftheproductionsite,which
closelyinteractswiththeotherroles.Thebusinessrepresentsthelastpartnerandcon‐
!"#$%&'($")
'"*)+,-*./-".0)
12)3.%4-5.0)
6%'-"-"7)'"*)
8.4./$9&.":)
;,"5($")
<,0-".00)=-".0)
>$&9.:."5.)
>.":%.)
3,0:'-"'?-/-:@)
+%$,9)12)
5.":%'/)0,99$%:)))))))))))))'"*)))))))))*.5.":%'/)0,99$%:)))))))'"*)))))))9%-&'%@)#,"5($"0)
!)
>)
3A) >)
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 61
tributeswith itssupportandcollaboration to thedevelopmentandconductionof the
training.
ResultsoftheInitiative
The CEI has nowbeen in place for three years and about one third of all employees
havebeentrainedsofar.Theeffect,however,ismuchbiggerthanonethird,sincethe
employeesworkinmixedteams.So,theknowledgehasalreadybeendiffusedinallthe
teams.Comingtotheconcreteresultsoftheinitiativeonecandistinguishbetweenfacts
ontwodifferentlayers:Attheonehandontheamountofspecialwasteandtherecy‐
clingratio.Andontheotherhandtheimpactonthesocialskillsoftheemployees.
“Werecognizedaneminentreductionofrecyclingmistakesandthereforeweachieved
costsavingsinavoidingextraworkofresortingmaterials”,Mr.Wydlersays.Andalso
asaconsequenceofthis,theamountofspecialwastehasbeenreduced.
Withtheintegrationoftheenvironmentaltrainingintheoveralltrainingplan,Geberit
managedtointegratetheenvironmentaltopicsmoothlyintothemindsetofthepeople.
Asaconsequenceofthis,sustainabilityisnotseenasanextratopic,butasanintegral
partofthetrainingprogram.
5.3.3 LessonsLearnedformtheInitiative
After three years of conducting the environment and recycling training, a number of
success factorsand lessons learnedcanbederived.Next, themost important lessons
learnedfromGeberitwillbepresentedanddiscussed.Thelessonslearnedincludead‐
vicesonhowtosuccessfullysetuptheCEIandtoreachthebestpossibleimpactonthe
organization.TheIllustrationshowsthefourareasofGeberit’slessonslearned.
Fig.24:LessonsLearnedformGeberit’sCEI.
!"#$%&'&()*)'+$,-##".+$/".$
)'01."'*)'+&2$3-3+&1'&4121+5$
6##217&8"'$"/$+9)$+"#17$+"$+9)$
3#)71:7$;"4$<$+&=3$"/$+9)$
)*#2"5))3$$
>3+&42139$&'$)?+)'310)$$
2)&.'1'($7-2+-.)$
@A>$*-3+$4)$1'+)(.&+)B$1'$+9)$
"0).&22$+.&1'1'($#."(.&**$
C)33"'3$C)&.')B$
D$ E$
F$ G$
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 62
Asafirstlessonlearned,especiallyduringthedevelopmentandtheearlyimplementa‐
tionphaseoftheCEI,itwascrucialtobringthenecessaryknow‐howtogether.Inpar‐
ticular, thealignmentbetweenthesupport functionsandthebusinessunitwouldnot
havebeensoeasyintheearlystage, ifthedirectionfromtopmanagementwouldnot
havebeensetproperly.Butwiththeaccordingguidanceinthebackgrounditispossi‐
bletocreateandmaintainthenecessarynetworktodevelopandimplementaneffec‐
tiveenvironmentaltrainingtoreachthesetobjectives.
Thesecondpointtoremember is that intheenvironmentofaproductionsite,where
mostoftheemployeesdonotbringabigschoolingbackgroundwiththem,itismanda‐
tory tomake the clear applicationand show theunderstandable relationof the topic
environmental sustainability to their respective jobsand tasks. In the realization,Ge‐
berit has implemented the practical part by dividing the training into two pieces, a
theoreticalandpracticalone.Inthesecondhands‐onpart,theperson/unit/division/
party responsible for recycling from the business line leads this part personally, and
thisshowstherelevanceofenvironmentalissuesandtheimportancetoo.Representa‐
tives form the business can, by applying the training to concrete working situation,
makeacloseconnectionto thedailyworkhere.Like this, thecontentof theenviron‐
mentaltrainingrestsinmind.
Third, fromGeberit’sperspectiveit is importanttounderstandthematterofenviron‐
mentalsustainabilityasawholeandthereforeitisvaluabletoincludethetopicinthe
overall training plan rather than have detached sessions only on sustainability.With
thisdecision,Geberitaccomplishedtotransfertheprinciplesofsustainabilitydirectly
into the core values of the employees.With the implementation of the sustainability
training as an integral part of the schooling concept, people recognize this as a fixed
partinthecompany’sstrategyandvalues.
And fourth,whenGeberitacknowledged thevalueof training theemployees, it is the
aimofthecompanytoimplementapositivelearningcultureovertime.Thisleadstoa
higher acceptance andmotivation for the training sessions. As a first point here it is
importanttoshowtheimportanceofthetraining.Theresultsofthetestmustbewell
consideredand if certainemployees still lack theknowledgeof a topic, rework is re‐
questedalsofromthebusinessside.Asasecondpoint,trainingshouldnotbeaonetime
session,butcontinuouspartsoflearningandthereforeseeingthesuccess.Especiallyin
environments,wherepeoplehavearatherloweducationalbackground,itisimportant
tocreateapositivelearningcultureratherthanputtingtheemployeesbacktoschool.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 63
5.3.4 DiscussionandConclusionformtheGeberitCase
Asconclusion fromtheGeberit casestudy, twoquestions remain tobeanswered.On
thefirsthanditwillbediscussedtowhatothercontextsGeberit’senvironmentaltrain‐
ingCEIcouldbetransferredandwhatpossiblestumblingblockscouldbe.Asasecond
part,inthisparagraphthequestionwillberaisedifandhowthisCEIsupportsthecor‐
porateenvironmentalstrategyinthespecificcontextoftheGeberitgroup.Butfirstto
thequestiontowhichcontextGeberit’sCEIcouldbetransferredto.
Asshowninthescopeoftheinitiative,thistrainingisdesignedfortheenvironmentof
aproductionsite.Theemployeesatthisproductionsitehavearatherloweducational
backgroundandtheyarenotusedtoself‐studyoronlinelearning.Thereforetheform
offace‐to‐faceinstructionisthemostappropriatewayofconductingthetraining.Other
formsdonotseemtobeasuccessfulwayof teachingsustainability. Inotherareasof
Geberit,wherepeoplebringmore schoolingbackground to their job, it ismore com‐
montoconductself‐studies,especiallytodeepentheknowledgeinaparticulararea.
Butwith lower educated employeeswho sometimes face lack of language skills it is
moresuitabletoperformface‐to‐facesessionswithhands‐oninstructions.Andthis is
alsothecontext,thisCEIcouldbetransferredto.
Asecond importantaspectconsideringthetransfer tootherenvironments is the top‐
levelmanagement support for the CEI.When sustainability is not in the focus of the
managementanddoesnothavethenecessaryattentioninthecompany,itwillbehard
for the leadof the initiative to setup the initiative successfully.But that leads to the
question of the appropriateness of the initiative with the corporate environmental
strategyofGeberit.
Asshownatthebeginningofthecasestudy,Geberithastheaimtofollowahighlysus‐
tainablecorporatestrategy,wheretheenvironmentalsustainabilityisanintegralpart
ofthebusinessstrategyandcorevalues.Thehigheffortoftrainingfortheemployees
shows that Geberit is determined to invest in human capital. The presence of the
sustainabilitymatter in the training concept and the rollout to all employees shows
howGeberitusesthisCEItodeeplytransformthethinkingandthebehavioroftheem‐
ployees.ThetraininginitiativepresentedinthiscasestudythereforeshowshowaCEI
is able to transform the organization towards sustainability, which is the key to a
“greenasanopportunity”strategy,howithasbeenfollowedbytheGeberitgroup.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 64
5.4 CaseStudy3:Holcim’sCorporateEnvironmentalStrategyandInitia‐
tivesintheMaterialsIndustry
TheHolcimgroupproducesbuildingmaterials forconstructionworkanddeliversre‐
lated services. The main products are cement and aggregates, which is for example
gravel.Thecompany,foundedin1912,hasitsheadquarterinZurich,Switzerland.The
productionsitesandthekeymarketsarespreadaroundtheworld.Holcimmaintains
localunitsin70countriesacrossallcontinents.Intheyear2009,thegroupemployed
80’000people.The following illustrationshowsthethree fieldsofHolcim’soperation
inasimplifiedmanner.
Fig.25:Holcim’sBusinessSections.
Thecementproductionrepresentsthecoreunit.Theproductionprocessforcementis
quitecomplex.Inafirststep,limestoneandclayareheatedtoapproximately1450de‐
grees Celsius in a blast furnace. The so‐called clinker,which is the result of the first
process,goesintothenextstep.Inthesecondstep,gypsumisaddedtotheclinkerand
inthecementmillprocessedtofinepowder.Holcimproducedabout1300mil.tonesof
cementintheyear2009.Theproductionofthecementtakesplaceinlargescaledand
capital‐intensefurnacesandcementmills.Theinvestmentcycleinacementplanttakes
about50to60years.Thismeans,thataninvestmentinacementproductionsiteisan
extraordinarylong‐termdecision.Thesecondunitproducesaggregates.Themostim‐
portantaggregatesaresand,crushedstoneandgravels.Theaggregatesareusedforthe
manufacturingof furtherbuildingmaterialsasforexampleasphalt.Holcimtakescare
oftheprocessofconveying,preparationandsortingofthematerials.Finally,theprod‐
uctsareusedtobuildroadsorrailwaytracks.Thethirdunitcombinestheothercon‐
structionmaterialsandservices.Thisincludestheproductionofconcreteandready‐to‐
useasphalt. For example, oneunitproducespipesandotherproducts that consistof
concrete.Thebusinessunitalsoincludesconstructionservicesandinternationaltrad‐
ing.
ItisthestrategyofHolcimtobesuccessfulthroughthecombinationoflocalresponsi‐
bilityandglobal leadership(Holcim,2010).Inthiscombination,thelocalunitfocuses
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 65
onoptimumcustomerservice,adaptedtotheregionalneedsandrequirements.Onthe
otherhand,thecentralfunctionssettheglobalstandardsforthebusinesses,alsofrom
asocietalandenvironmentalperspective.
Especially environmental issues influenceHolcim’s business strategy and target. The
extractionofthenaturalresourcesfortheprocessaffectstheenvironmentatthepro‐
duction sites. As shown above, the production process for cement requires a huge
amountofenergy.Thetraditionalenergysourcesmostcommonlyusedarecoal,heavy
fueloilorgas.So,environmentalsustainabilityandindependenceformfossilfuelsplay
anintegrativeroleinHolcim’scorporatestrategy(Holcim,2008).
In thiscontext, thecasestudyexaminesthe initiativeofHolcimto includealternative
energies in theprocessofcementproduction.AtHolcim, the firstexperiencewithal‐
ternativeenergieswasalreadymadetwentyyearsago.Therollouttoawidernumber
of production plants took place over the last few years. This CEI therefore shows a
long‐term corporate initiative with worldwide impact for the production plants.
Through the initiative,Holcim is able to use communitywaste for the heating of the
cement furnaces.Thecasewillshowwhat therequirements for theCEIwere,outline
theoutcomesandderivethelessonslearnedformtheinitiative.
5.4.1 Holcim’sCorporateEnvironmentalStrategy
TounderstandtheinitiativeinthecontextofHolcim’ssituationinthemarket,thefol‐
lowingsectionwilldisplaythemostimportantpointsofHolcim’senvironmentalstrat‐
egy.Holcimshows thecommitment to theprinciplesof sustainabledevelopmentand
theadaptionofenvironmental‐friendlybusinessprocesses into thecorestrategy.But
whatdoesthismeanforabusiness,wherehugeinvestmentsinblastfurnacehavebeen
made and where the process of production consumes much energy and natural re‐
sources?Andadditionally,thistakesplaceinamarket,wherethedemandforcementis
stillveryhighandalternativeproductsstillclaimmarketonthebuyer’sside.
Even though the conditions for environmental countermeasures are not easy under
thesecircumstances,HolcimdevelopedandimplementedaCESindifferentfieldsofthe
company.Accordingthechairman’sstatementinthesustainabilityreport2009,thekey
areasandobjectivesfortheenvironmentalstrategyare(Holcim,2010a):
Achievereductionsingreenhousegases,especiallyinthefieldofCO2emissions
Takecareofnaturalresourcesespeciallyinthefieldofwaterconsumption
Showastrongcommitmenttobiodiversityandestablishabiodiversityman‐
agement
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 66
Thethreepointsaboveandotherenvironmentalobjectiveshavebeenintegratedinto
Holcim’s sustainability focus, which describes the field of investigation in environ‐
mentalmatter.The following illustration shows the four fields,which summarize the
areasofHolcim’sCES.
Fig.26:TheFocusofEnvironmentalSustainabilityatHolcim.
The illustrationpointsout thediversified fieldsofHolcim’sCES.First,Holcimaimsto
create sustainable products to support sustainable construction. Thismeans, that ef‐
fortswillbemadetodevelopnewproducts.Withregardstotheproductdevelopment,
Holcim acknowledges the opportunity to craft products that support the environ‐
mental‐friendlyconstructionofthebuilding.ThispartoftheCESreflectstheinnovative
side of the company. The aspects focus on the creation of new opportunities, which
mayresultintheadaptionorreinventionofthetraditionalvaluechain.Inthetypology
for CES this sidewould be covered through the typeB strategy. The typeB strategy
represents‘greenasopportunity’.
ButthisisonlyonesideofHolcim’sCES.Duetothefactthatthedemandforthetradi‐
tionalcementisstillhighandtheinvestmentsintheproductionsiteareofanextraor‐
dinary long‐term nature, Holcim faces additional challenges. In the existing process,
Holcimaims to increase theeco‐efficiency in several areas. First,Holcim iswilling to
achieve improvementswith regards to the climate emissions.As statedby the chair‐
man,HolcimseesthenecessitytoreducetheemissionsofCO2intheprocess.Further‐
more, theuseofenergyshouldbe improvedbyprocess innovations.Andasa lastas‐
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 67
pect,Holcimwantstotakecareofresourcesconservationsaswaterconsumptionand
biodiversity. These points havemore the nature of optimizations,where the current
valuechainandproductiontechnologyisgiveningeneral.Butwithintheexistingproc‐
esses and technology, improvements for environmental‐sustainability are subject of
investigation.IntheidealmodelofCES,thisrepresentsmorethetypeA.
Holcim therefore represents a company, where both types are reflected in the envi‐
ronmentalstrategy.
Fig.27:Hocim’sCESintheModel.
The illustration above shows the two ideal types of CES. Type A represents the ap‐
proach,where thecurrentvalueproposition isgivenandaround thegivenprocesses
andproducts,environmentalimprovementsaresought.ForHolcimthisisthecasewith
theeffortsaroundthelong‐terminvestmentsofthecementproductionplants.Herethe
technologywiththeblastfurnaceisgiven,buttheprocessesaroundaresubjecttore‐
consideration for environmental improvements as energy efficiency and water con‐
sumption.Ontheotherhandtheaspectofputtingeffortintonewproductsandseeking
foropportunitiesrepresentstherightpyramidintheillustration.Inthatcase,oldpro‐
ductiontechnologiesarenotrelevant. It ismoreaboutdiscoveringnewopportunities
forfuturemarkets.
AsaresulthavingbothaspectsinoneCES,Holcimcouldbedescribedas‘hybridtype’
withregardstotheidealtypemodelofenvironmentalstrategies.
!"##$%
!"#$%&
'()*)+,-).&&
/&0)(%&1%#,%2+&
!"#$%&
'()*)+,-).&&
/&0)(%&1%#,%2+&
3.4,().5%.6"#&1"#".7%&
!"#$%&
'()*)+,-).&&
/&0)(%&1%#,%2+&
1%2)(%&
89%(&
:)&&'(%6;,.<+&,.&.%=&=">+?& :)&$#)%6;,.<+&,.&.%=&=">+?&
@>*%&8A&B,+C&D,-<"-).& @>*%&1A&3.6%(*(%.%$(,"#&
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 68
Holcimreportstheeffortsforenvironmentalsustainabilityinthesustainabilityreport
(Holcim,2010a).ThereportiscompiledaccordingtheGRI3.0standardwiththeadap‐
tion levelA+,which represents thehighest levelof sustainability reporting.Alsoasa
consequenceofthis,theHolcimshareislistedintheDJSIandFTSE4GoodSustainability
Index(Holcim,2010).
5.4.2 TheCEIfortheUsageofAlternativeEnergiesintheCementProcess
Holcimwas looking forpossibilities for the substitutionof traditionalenergysources
for the cement process. In that context, the idea of ‘co‐processing’ was born. Co‐
processinginthatcontextsignifiestheimplementationofanadditionalvaluechainto
theexistingcoreprocess.Theproductionprocessforcementrepresentsthecoreproc‐
ess. In addition to that, a supplementary process supports the core process. In this
situation itwas theaimto inventavaluechain for theprovisioningofenergy for the
blast furnace. It is a strategic focusofHolcim’sCES tousealternativeenergies in the
processes.This iswhyHolcimstartedaninitiativetoassessthepossibilityofalterna‐
tiveenergiesinthetraditionalprocess.
SincetheproductionplantsofHolcimarespreadallovertheworld,itwasnoteasyto
findonealternative resource that isavailableatallplacesaround theworld.Butone
thingthatisavailableeverywhereiswaste.Furthermore,withtheusageofwasteasa
source for energy, Holcim would be able to create a win‐win situation for the local
communityandthecompanyatthesametimebecausethedisposalofwastecanhelp
the localcommunity toa increase their livingstandard.Asaresultof these thoughts,
Holcimdecidedtolaunchaninitiativetoassessthepossibilityoftheusageofwasteasa
sourceofenergy.
ThefollowingoverviewshowsthekeypointsoftheCEI.Asanextstep,thefiveareasof
theinitiativewillfurtherbeoutlined.Thedescriptionwillstartwiththeneedsforthe
CEI,followedbytheaccordingobjectives,thedefinitionofthescopeandanexplanation
of the roles and responsibilities within the initiative. The last point summarizes the
resultsoftheinitiative.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 69
Fig.28:OverviewofHolcim’sCEI.
The followingsectionswilloutline theareasof theCEI inmoredetails.The initiative
will show howHolcimmanaged to develop a company‐wide standard for the use of
alternativeenergies inthecementproductionprocess.Additionally, theinitiativealso
delineates the approach of local realization according the respective community re‐
quirements.
NeedsfortheCIE
Giventhecurrentprocessfortheproductionofcement,Holcimfacedhighenergycosts.
TheblastfurnaceheatsthematerialstooveronethousanddegreesCelsius.Therefore,
theoptimizationoftheenergysourcesmaybeapossibilitytoachievesignificantcost
reductions.Aninitiativetosearchdifferentwaysofenergysupplyfortheblastfurnace
would also lower the risk of dependency to one source of energy.Waste is available
almost everywhere as a possible resource for combustion. The need for alternative
energysourcesand theavailabilityofwastearound theworldrepresented theneeds
forthisinitiative.
Objectives
Itwas the intentionof the initiative toassess thepossibility tosubstituteonepartof
thetraditionalpowersupplyforthecementprocesstroughalternativeenergies.Since
powersupplyisanimportantcostfactorfortheproductionprocess,Holcimexpected
cost savings.Apositivebusiness casewas theprecondition for an implementationof
theCEI.Butitwasalsoimportantthattheapproachwouldbeabenefitnotonlyforthe
!"#$%%&#'()#*+%#,-.#
/"#012%345%6#('#*+%#,-.#
7"#8+%#93(:%#('#
*+%#
;<;4=45%#
>"#?(@%6#=<&#
?%6:(<6;A
1;@;4%6#
B"#?%6C@*6#
•! D;E+#%<%)EF#3(<6CG:4(<#;<#*+%#*)=&;4(<=@#
3%G%<*#:)(3%66#
•! H;5%)6;I3=4(<#;<#*+%#%<%)EF#6C::@F#
•! J(*%<4=@##
•! J(6;45%#1C6;<%66#3=6%#
•! K%<%I*#'()#1(*+L#*+%#
3(G:=<F#=<&#*+%#6(3;%*F#
•! -<3)%=6%#('#*+%#
6C164*C4(<#)=*%#
•! -G:@%G%<*=4(<#
=33()&;<E#3(G:=<FAM;&%#
6*=<&=)&6#
•! H%5%@(:G%<*#('#'C<&=G%<*=@6#
=<&#EC;&%@;<%6#'()#M()@&AM;&%#
;G:@%G%<*=4(<#
•! ?(@@A(C*#=33()&;<E#@(3=@#
)%NC;)%G%<*6#
•! ,%<*)=@#*%=G#'()#EC;&%@;<%6#=<&#
3(<6C@4<E#
•! O(3=@L#&%3%<*)=@#;G:@%G%<*=4(<#
*%=G#
•! D?#6C::()*#'()#)%3)C;*G%<*#=<&#
*)=;<;<E#
•! P()@&AM;&%#5=@;&#
;G:@%G%<*=4(<#EC;&%@;<%6#
•! $%M#5=@C%#3+=;<#'()#*+%#
C6=E%#('#=@*%)<=45%#
%<%)E;%6#%6*=1@;6+%&#
•! -<3)%=6%#('#*+%#6C164*C4(<#
)=*%#('#*)=&;4(<=@#%<%)EF#
6(C)3%6# D(@3;GQ6#
R@*%)<=45%##
.<%)E;%6#
,.-#
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 70
company,but also to the local community.Theusageofwaste for energyproduction
hasbeenseenasapotentialwin‐winsituationfortheneighborhoodandforHolcimat
thesametime.
ScopeandContentoftheCEI
The scope of the initiative includes two levels. The first level represents the general
assessmentofthepossibilityandthedevelopmentofacompany‐widestandardforthe
realizationatseveralplaces.Thesecondlevelistherollouttotheplantsaccordingthe
localrequirementsandspecialties.
Onthe first level itwastheaimtoworkout theadvantagesanddisadvantagesof the
usage ofwaste as co‐processing for the cement process. Although the experiences of
Holcimwithregardstoalternativeenergiesbegantwentyyearsago,itwasachallenge
toputall factstogetheranddevelopstandardsandguidelines.Nexttothecreationof
the standards, someconsultingknowledge for thepractical implementationwas sub‐
jectofdevelopment.
Oncethestandardsweredescribedthetheoreticalknowledgewas inplace, theadap‐
tiontothelocalfacilitieswasconsideredasthenextstep.Thelocalrequirementsand
preconditionsdiffer a lot around the countries and theproduction sites.Therefore, a
close link between the overarching group of company‐wide specialists and the local
implementationteamwasnecessary.
Before therolloutof the initiative, theHolcimsiteswerepureproductionsite for the
traditional products. The processing ofwaste as source for energy requires an addi‐
tionalvaluechainforthegathering,pre‐processingandburningofthematerials–and
at the end also the disposal of the ash of the waste combustion. The waste co‐
processing was a completely new field of investigation for the Holcim sites and re‐
quired new skills, new processes and new equipment. This is because thewaste co‐
processingisillustratedasanadditionalvaluechaininthefigurebellow.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 71
Fig.29:TheScopeofHolcim’sCEIinPorter’sValueChain.
Thevaluechainforalternativeenergiesisininteractionwiththeoperationsofthecore
process, since the additional processdelivers energy for the cementprocess.But the
two value chains are very different in terms of skills, people and also level of recog‐
nized importance to the employees and sometimes management representives. The
cementprocessisthecorebusinessofHolcimwithalongtraditionandpride.Theal‐
ternativeenergyunitisrathernewtotheorganizationandrequiresskillsthatwerenot
availableinthecompanybefore.Therefore,thealternativeenergyvaluechainmustbe
seenasaseparateone,alsobecausetherequirementsdiffertothesupportfunctionsof
thealternativeenergiesprocess.Thisaspectwillbeexplainedmoredetailedwithinthe
nextsection.
RolesandResponsibilities
Asdescribed,theinitiativeconsistsoftwolevels.Onthefirsthandthereisthegeneral
assessmentofthepossibilitiesandthedevelopmentofguidelines.Sincethisworkcan
bemultiplied all over the company and synergies can be achieved, these tasks have
!"#$%&'(#)*+#,-+,#.%
!"#$#%&'()(*+($%&,-)((+($%&+(."/012&2"-)31(/4&
/,$)'%0.*1,#-.%2)')3.$.'+%
!"#$#%&2"*25+3($%&02)+(+($%&*16,"(/)31(&/7/0"64&
4.-5'16137%8.9.61:$.'+%
!"#$#%&,2185*0&8"/+$(%&0"/3($%&,21*"//&8"/+$(%&6)0"2+)-&2"/")2*9%&6)2:"0&2"/")2*94&
;#1-,#.$.'+%
!"#$#%&*16,1("(0/%&6)*9+("27%&)8."23/+($%&;&/"2.+*"/4&
&'<1,'=%
>13"*?-*%
!"#$#%&+(*16+($&
6)0"2+)-&
/012)$"%&8)0)%&
*1--"*31(%&
/"2.+*"%&
*5/016"2&
)**"//4&
@:.#)?1'*%
!"#$#%&
)//"6<-7%&
*16,1("(0&
=)<2+*)31(%&
<2)(*9&
1,"2)31(/4&
@,+<1,'=%
>13"*?-*%
!"#$#%&128"2&
,21*"//+($%&
>)2"915/+($%&
2",120&
,2",)2)31(4&
2)#A.?'3%B%
C)6.*%
!"#$#%&/)-"/&
=12*"%&
,216131(%&
)8."23/+($%&
,21,1/)-&
>2+3($%&?"<&
/+0"4&
DE.#FC)6.*%
C.#9"-.%
!"#$#%&+(/0)--)31(%&
*5/016"2&/5,,120%&
*16,-)+(0&
2"/1-531(%&
2",)+24&
@2+6)27&)*3.+3"/&
A5,,120&)*3.+3"/&
!"#$%"&'
($)*+,-+'
./012,$"+' 32140,")'5'
6270+'
8901:6270+'
601;*-0'
.%<#$%"&'
($)*+,-+'
!"#$%&%'()!*+,(-#&%'(!.#(-/$(0!12-!,3(!4(5(#,!6-2789%2#!
=*1>'!"?12+<1%-<%10'
:(;/;<!=#	$#/<!>+&##$#/<!$#'(0,2-!-(+&%2#0?!
@%>2"'A0+$%1-0'32"2)0>0"<'
:(;/;<!-(9-8$%#/<!,-&$#$#/<!925>(#0&%2#!0@0,(5?!
B0-C"$7$)D'E0;07$/>0"<'
:(;/;<!>-2789,!7(0$/#<!,(0%#/<!>-29(00!7(0$/#<!5&,(-$&+!-(0(&-93<!5&-A(,!-(0(&-93?!
F1$-%10>0"<'
:(;/;<!925>2#(#,0<!5&93$#(-@<!&7'(-%0$#/<!B!0(-'$9(0?!
!"#"$%&'()*+,-)$&./0+"&!1/2$&
30%"($/-4"&5$"(62"7&./0+"&!1/2$&
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 72
beenassignedtoacentralgroupforalternativeenergies.IntheHolcimheadquarter,it
is theirresponsibility todevelopandmaintain thecompanystandards foralternative
energiesandactasaconsultingpartnerfortheimplementationprojects.Sincethiswas
anewareaof investigation forHolcim, thecompanydecidedtoacquireexternalsup‐
port. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) provided the
specialknowledgetocreatethefundamentalsforthealternativeenergiesbusiness.
Theresponsibility for the implementation is,according toHolcim’sstrategy,assigned
to the local management. Once the decision is adopted, the local management an‐
nouncesadedicatedimplementationteamwhichisaccountableforthewholerealiza‐
tion.Itisalsothelocalalternativeenergiesteamthatinteractswiththesupportfunc‐
tionsinthecountry.
Fig.30:RolesandResponsibilitieswithinHolcim’sCEI.
Duetothefactthatthelocalteamhasthefullresponsibilityandactsastheintegrator,
theroleofstrategicpartnerisassignedtotheteaminthecountry.Itistheroleofthe
headquarters’grouptoprovidethenecessaryrequirementsandguidelinestoinnovate
thelocalproductionsite.Sotheroleoftheinnovatorisgiventothegroupteam,which
includesalsoconsultantservicesforthecountryunits.Sinceitisessentialtoimplement
thewastesolutionbusinessunitwiththeproperskillsandpeople,thestrategicpartner
isincloseinteractionwiththelocalHR.Tohavethenecessarymanpowerinplace,HR
needstorecruitpeoplefromtheexternallabormarket.Besidestherecruitmentofex‐
ternalpeopleitisthetaskofHRtoalignthetrainingprogramsandassurethecultural
integrationofthenewbusinessunit.
!"#$%&
'%()*+$,-)&
.+)*/0)1&2)$3&4*"56&
'%()*+$,-)&
.+)*/0)1&2)$3&
!"#$%&78&
9& :;&
<&#)+(*$%&=5+#,"+& >)#)+(*$%&=5+#,"+&
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 73
ResultsoftheInitiative
Theinitiativeexpressestheexperiencesfromthelasttwentyyears.Severalimplemen‐
tationstookplaceallovertheworld,facingdifferentconditions.Theguidelinesforthe
businesshavebeensetuponcompany‐widelevel,butaremaintainedincloseinterac‐
tionwiththerolloutsinthecountriestoensurethefitwiththelocalrequirements.As
oneexample,theimplementationofHolcimPhilippinescanbementioned.6Inthispro‐
duction plant, the alternatives energies business unit was implemented in the year
2005.Sincethen,theplantuseswastefortheproductionofenergyforthecoreprocess.
Thisexampleshowsthatwastecanhavemanymeanings.ThePhilippinescentralbank
wasatthattimelookingforadisposalpossibilityfortheirpaperbanknotesremoved
form the circulation. Instead of landfilling,Holcimoffered their services for burn the
banknotes and gain energy for the production process. Since then, Holcim produces
cementwiththehelpofoldbanknotes.Thisexampleillustratesthesuccessoftheini‐
tiatives,butalsothatrequirementsandprerequisitescandifferovertheworld.
5.4.3 LessonsLearnedformtheInitiative
The lessons learnedwilldescribe themost importantmessageswhichwerereported
about thesustainability initiativeatHolcim.The findingscanbesummarized in three
areas.
The first aspect considers the situation thatwith this initiative, the corebusiness re‐
mainsthesame,butanadditionalvaluedriverisputinplace.Thecorecementprocess
stays unaffected, but an additional value chain is created. The implementation of the
wastesolutionclearlyleadstocapitalexpensesandinvestments,butontheotherhand
alsobringsnewsourcesofincomeandsavingspotentialinthecoreprocess.Toputthe
upsidesanddownsidesononepaper,itisimportantintheviewoftheinterviewpart‐
nertosetupaclearbusinesscase.Itisthecombinationofeconomicalvaluesandeco‐
logicalgainsthatattheendshowsthebenefitoftheCEI.Andthereforeitisessentialto
bringthenumberstogetherandconvincethestakeholderswithsoundarguments.This
isonlypossiblewithaclearbusinesscase,whichalsoallowsthesupportfunctionsas
HRtoinvestigatewiththenecessarybackupfromtheorganization.
6 For more information about the Holcim Philippines case see the following website:http://www.holcim.com/CORP/EN/id/1610640023/mod/7_7/page/case_study.html, visitedonJuly21st2010.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 74
Fig.31:LessonsLearnedformHolcim’sCEI.
Asasecondpointitismandatorytoannouncethenewbusinessunitasintegralpartof
thecompanyandequallyimportant.Itcanbetheperceptionoftheemployeesthatthe
corebusiness ismore important than thewastesolution, forexample.Therefore it is
crucialtohavethebusinessunitintegratedintheorganizationmodelofthecompany
atahighlevel,nearthetopmanagement.Thisdemonstratestheimportanceoftheen‐
vironmentalbusinessunitandallowsthemanagementattentionandthedirectsteering
formtheseniorexecutives.FromanHRview,theinternaltraining,atleastforthesen‐
iormanagement,isimportanttoraisetheawarenessfortheimportanceandtheunder‐
standingforthenewbusinessunit.
And as a third point, the collaboration with external know‐how providers has been
denoted.Holcimwasinthesituationwhereknowledgeaboutanon‐corebusinessmat‐
terwasrequired.Thedevelopmentoftheregulationsforwastesolutionswasinnova‐
tivetoHolcimandalsocrucialintermsofexternalacceptance.Whenthelocalcommu‐
nitiesorregulatorygovernmentaladministrationwouldnotacceptthestandards, the
rollout of the initiative and also the potential benefit form the CEIwould be endan‐
gered.ThereforeitwasvaluabletocooperatewiththeGTZtodevelopthestandardand
guidelinesforthewasteco‐productionprocessatHolcim.Withthehelpoftheexternal
support,Holcimwasabletoevidentlyprovethebenefitfromtheenvironmentalinitia‐
tiveforwastesolutionstotheinternalbutalsoexternalstakeholdersofthecompany.
Theexternal expertise enabledgaining thenecessaryacceptanceand support for the
initiative.
!"#$%&'()&$(*+%),((
-./#&%//(*)/%(
0%12&/',)'%('3%(4152,')&6%(27(
'3%(8%9(-./#&%//(:%6;2&(
!<'%,&)+(=&29>329((
72,(!<5%,'(?25#6/(
@%//2&/(@%),&%$(
A( B(
C(
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 75
5.4.4 DiscussionandConclusionformtheHolcimCase
Seeing thesuccessofHolcim’s initiative thequestionarises, towhichcontext theCEI
couldbetransferred.Theprerequisiteforaninitiativelikethewastesolutionisanop‐
portunity in the core process, to substitute environmentally bad components with
moreenvironmentalfriendlysolutions.Inthecaseofthewastemanagementinitiative,
fossil fuelwas theenvironmentalbadaspect in theproductionprocess.Butaddition‐
ally,analternativetothefossilfuelhastoexist.Theavailabilityofwastenearthepro‐
ductionsiteprovidedtheopportunitytoincludewasteasco‐processing.Situationslike
thismay occur in almost every production process in the industry. From a technical
pointofview,theinitiativecouldbetransferredtoalmosteveryproductionfirm.
Besides the technical aspects, themanagement and soft‐factor side has to be consid‐
eredtodecideaboutthepossibilityfortransfertoothercompanies.Thecriticalsuccess
factors form the lessons learnedhave shown the importanceof theunderstandingof
theimportanceandthevalueofanenvironmentalinitiative.Thelocalmanagementhas
to be able to understand and implement the global execution plan according the re‐
gionalrequirements.Thereforeanunderstandingandopennesson localmanagement
level is crucial for the implementation of the initiative in other firms, in cooperation
withandaccordingtotheincentivesandtargetsetting.Whenthenecessaryprecondi‐
tionsareset for therolloutof the initiative,a companycanachieveabetterenviron‐
mentalperformanceandadditionalfinancialbenefitatthesametime.
ThereforetheinitiativeclearlysupportsHolcim’sstrategytotakeenvironmentalmat‐
tersintoaccount.ThestrategyofHolcimwasdescribedasahybridforminthemodel
ofCES.Holcimfocusesonbusinessopportunitiesandriskmitigationatthesametime.
Thisinitiativerepresentsanexamplewhereabusinessopportunitylikewastesolution
goes together with risk mitigation. The risk mitigation took place, because Holcim
achievedahighersubstitutionratefromfossilfuelsandthereforeloweredthedepend‐
encyontraditionalpowersources.Theenvironmentalimpactofthecementproduction
decreasedwithoutchangingthecore‐processincrementally.Itisastrategywhereenvi‐
ronmentalimpactreductioninthecoreprocessgoesalongwithanewbusinesssector.
Thecoexistenceoftheoldproductionprocessandthenewbusinessopportunityleads
toasituation,whereinequalitybetweenthetwosectorsmayoccur.Thereforeitisim‐
portantforthesupportfunctions,namelyHR,tocreateandmaintainevenpossibilities
forboth‘worlds’,theoldcore‐processandthenewsupportingvaluechain.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 76
6 DiscussionoftheLessonsLearnedfromtheCaseStudies
Thischapterwillreviewanddiscussthefindingsformthethreecasestudiespresented
inthechapterbefore.Itisthefocusofthissectiontoanalyzeacrossthedifferentcases,
andnotwithinthecasesasbefore.Inthismanner,thecasestudieswillbecomparedto
find similarities between the cases, but also to analyze the differences that can be
found.Doingso,itistheaimtogaingeneralfindingsandhypothesesforfurtherinves‐
tigationonthebasesofthecases.
Thesection is structured in foursubchapters.The firstparagraphwill showthe indi‐
viduallessonslearnedformthedifferentcasestudiesinoneoverview.Thispicturewill
providethebaselineforfurtheranalysisofcommunalitiesandinterestingfindings.And
furthermore,thepicturewillprovidethebaseforthediscussionofthedifferentroles
beingtakenbyHRMinthedifferentCEI.
Inthesubchapterafterwards,basedontheoverallpictureandthecorrespondingroles
of the lessons learned, some interesting findingswill be discussed inmoredetails to
deepentheanalysisofthelessonslearnedacrossthecases.Thespotofthisparagraph
willbeonthetopicofmanagementsupportandtrainingfortheemployeesinthecon‐
textoftherespectiveCEI.
ThethirdsectionwillfocusonthereviewoftherolesbeingtakenbyHR.Basedonthe
information of the case studies, the roles of the functions involved in the lessons
learnedwillbeassessedinthemodelforthekeyroles,whichcanpossiblybeentaken
byHRasderivedinchapter4.Thisassessmenttakesplacealsounderattentionofcen‐
tralizationanddecentralizationaspects.
Tocompletethecross‐analysisof the lessons learnedthe focusof the lastsubchapter
liesontheareaswherenolessonslearnedwerederivedformthecases.Theso‐called
whitespotinspectionwillcomparetheareasoftheoreticallyaffectedfieldsofHRwith
theobservedlessonslearned.Doingso,possiblespotsforfurtherresearchcanbede‐
duced.
It is theobjectiveof thewholechapter toprovide theevaluationof thecasesstudies,
startingnowwiththepresentationoftheoverviewfromthelessonslearned.
6.1 SummaryoftheLessonsLearned
In each case study, three to four main lessons learned were presented. The lessons
learnedweredeductedbythequestion,whatintheviewoftheinterviewpartnersen‐
suredorenforcedthesuccessoftheCEIinthecompany.SincethecontextsoftheCEI
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 77
werequitedifferentandalsodrivenbyspecificCES,theareasofthelessonslearnedare
fairly diverse.However the big scope of lessons learned, some common findings and
groupscanbeidentified.Thefollowingillustrationshowsthebigpictureofthelessons
learnedformthecasestudies.Therespective lessons learnedofthefirmaregrouped
aroundthecompanyname.Thenumbersofthelessonslearnedmatchtothenumera‐
tioninthedescriptionofthecasesinthechapterbefore.
Fig.32:OverviewoftheLessonsLearnedintheCaseStudies.
The first simularity that standsout is the importanceof themanagement support. In
eachofthethreecases,theaspecthasbeenrecognizedascrucialforthesuccessofthe
initiatives.OnelessonlearnedofHolcimstatedtheimportanceofanevidentbusiness
casetoconvincethelocalmanagement,whichcanbeseenasapreconditionforaccu‐
ratemanagementsupport.Furthertwolessonslearnedstandforthecrucialfactorofa
successful transfer to thehuman resources of the company. In theGalenica case, the
crucialfactorhasbeenfoundtobetheemployeeparticipation,whichensuredtheiden‐
tificationoftheemployeeswiththetopicandattractedmanypeopleforparticipation.
The same topichasbeenencountered in theGeberit case.Tohave the importanceof
theenvironmental topicunderstoodby the staff,Geberit suggest the specific applica‐
tionof the topic to theunique specialties of the respective jobof the employee. Like
!"#$%&'"( !$)$*&+(
,-#'&.(
/.0#-1$$(2"*3'&0"3-%(
"%4(/.0-5$*.$%+(
6(
7-0(8"%"9$.$%+(
:;00-*+(<-*(+=$(>%&3"3?$(
@(
A$%+*"#(:;00-*+(<-*(
:+*;'+;*&%9B(C#&9%.$%+(
"%4(:;00-*+(-<(+=$(A/>(D(
7-0(8"%"9$.$%+(
:;00-*+(<-*(
/%?&*-%.$%+"#(
:;E+"&%")&#&+1(
6(
C00#&'"3-%(-<(+=$(7-0&'(
+-(+=$(E0$'&F'(G-)(H(
7"EIE(-<(+=$(/.0#-1$$E((
@(
A/>(.;E+()$(&%+$9*"+$4(
&%(+=$(J?$*"##(7*"&%&%9(
2*-9*"..(D(
/E+")#&E=("%($K+$%E&?$((
L$"*%&%9(A;#+;*$(
M(/?&4$%+("%4('#$"*((
N;E&%$EE(A"E$(
6(
O$.-%E+*"+$(+=$(
>.0-*+"%'$(-<(+=$(%$5(
N;E&%$EE(:$'3-%(
@(
/K+$*%"#(P%-5Q=-5((
<-*(/K0$*+(7-0&'E(
D(
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 78
that,themeaningofenvironmentalsustainabilitycanbememorizedanddeeplyunder‐
stoodbythepeople.
TwootherlessonslearneddescribethesuccessfulguidanceoftheCEIfromthesupport
function. In the case of Galenica themanagement accentuated the importance of the
centralguidanceofaCEI,whichisdrivenonthelocallevel.TheGeberitcasesshowed
the importanceof integratingtheenvironmental training in theoverallprocessofHR
ascompensationsandtalentmanagement,toensuretheoptimaleffectiveness.
The remaining two lessons learned play in the field of knowledge and culturalman‐
agement.InthecaseofHolcim,theinterviewpartnersacknowledgedthepossibilityto
strengthenspecificknow‐howthroughexternalpartners,as theydidthroughthecol‐
laborationwithGTZ.Andaslastbutnotleast,theGeberitmanagementaccentuatedthe
importance of an open‐minded, well established learning culture and willingness to
anticipatechangesforasuccessfulimplementationofdeep‐goinggreeninitiatives.
As alreadymentioned, the importance of certain topics across the caseswill nowbe
analyzedinmoredetails.
6.2 LessonsLearnedcomparedindifferentContexts
Sofarthe,thelessonslearnedhavebeenconsideredasawhole.Now,theanalysisfo‐
cusesoncertainspecialtopics.Interestingfindingswillbediscussedinadeeperman‐
ner.Onetopicwasfoundineachofthethreecases.Therefore,thefocusofthefirstsub‐
jecttobetreatedindetal liesonthemanagementsupport.Thisareawillbeanalyzed
withregardstotheunderlingCESandpreconditions.Second,thecontextofthelessons
learnedregardingemployeetrainingwillbeconsidered.
6.2.1 ImpactofManagementSupport
Theimportanceofmanagementsupportwasbeyondcontroversyacrossallcases.The
supportfromtopandseniormanagementismandatoryforthesuccessofaCEI.Butthe
mannerofsupportdiffersacrossthecasessignificantly.Thewayofsupportwillnowbe
analyzedregardingthestrategicbackgroundofthecompany.Therefore,wereconsider
theframeworkforCES.Thethreedifferentapproachestoenvironmentalsustainability
weredescribed.Tocatchupwiththemodelpresentedinthiswork,hereashortrepeti‐
tion:thecontinuumofpossibleCESisreflectedthroughtwoidealtypes.TypeAinter‐
pretsenvironmentalissuesasthreats.Therefore,companiesfollowingidealtypeAsee
environmental matters as risk and try to implement a control strategy as reaction.
CompaniesfollowingtypeB,whichsee‘green’asanopportunitydoitdifferently.They
are aimed at environmental‐friendly value‐chains and process. Moreover they see
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 79
‘green’asapartof theircorestrategyandarewilling to transformtheirbusiness for
newbusinessopportunitiesinthisfield.Furthermore,ahybridformofthetwostrate‐
giesexists.ThisiswhenelementsofbothtypesareincludedintheCESofacompany.
The illustrationbelowshows the lessons learnedregardingmanagementsupport,ex‐
tracted form the overall picture. In the case studies, Galenica represented a CES that
ratherreflectsatypeAstrategy.Here,thelessonslearnedregardingmanagementsup‐
portistostrengthentheconcreteinitiative.Thismakessense,sinceinitiativesintypeA
ratherfollowapunctualplanthananoverarchingtransformation.Thefocusofsupport
isthereforeontheconcreteinitiative.
Fig.33:DifferentApproachesforManagementSupport.
The second case studywas the caseofGeberit. In themodel forCES,Geberit follows
moreofatypeBstrategy.Thisrepresentsthetransformationofthebusinesstowards
eco‐friendlybusinessopportunities.Regarding the lessons learned,here themanage‐
mentsupport liesmoreonthesustainabilitymatter itselfratherthanontheconcrete
initiative. It is about creating the awareness and the understanding for the general
topic.TheseveralCEIbenefitindirectlyofoverallimportance,thatisseeninthetopic
bytheemployeesandlinemanagement.
The third case is Holcimwith the hybrid strategy. Here an ‘old’ value chain coexists
with a ‘green’ value chain. To ensure a proper implementation and operation of the
eco‐friendly business section it is the focus of themanagement support to create an
understandingandacceptanceforthenew‘green’model.Thenewmodelhastowork
parallel tothetraditionalbusiness. It ismoreofabalancetobefoundbetweentradi‐
tionalvaluesandinnovativeatmosphereofa‘green’businesssection.
Theanalysisofmanagementsupportreflectedasetoflessonslearnedwhichhavetobe
interpreted in thespecificcontextof thecompany. Itshowsthat theanalysisofaCEI
alwayshas to consider the strategic backgroundof the company to gain valuable re‐
sults.Anadditionalcase,wheretheCESbackgroundmatters,willnowbepresented.
!"#$%&'&()*)'+$
,-##".+$/".$+0)$1'23&34)$
5&6)'27&$
!"#$%&'&()*)'+$
,-##".+$/".$
8'42."'*)'+&6$
,-9+&2'&:262+;$
5):).2+$
<)*"'9+.&+)$+0)$
1*#".+&'7)$"/$+0)$')=$
>-92')99$,)73"'$
?"672*$
!;#)$@$ !;#)$>$ 0;:.2A$
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 80
6.2.2 EmployeeTrainingfor‘CorporateGreening’
ThecasestudyofHolcimandGeberitincludedthetopicofstafftraining.Thefollowing
sectionwilloutlinethespecialtiesofthetrainingtopicswithregardtoenvironmental
initiatives.Thefollowingfigureshowsthetwolessonslearnedinthisfield.Theboxon
theleftrepresentsthelessonlearnedformGeberit.Ontherightside,themessageform
theHolcimcasestudyisshown.
Fig.34:LessonsLearnedintheAreaofEmployeeTraining.
ThetraininginthecontextofthetypeBstrategyofGeberithasthefocustoestablish
‘green’behaviorasthepreferred,acceptedandrewardedactingoftheemployees.The
objectiveisvalidforallemployeesandfollowsadeepunderstandingofenvironmental‐
matters.Thetopicenvironmentalsustainabilitymustbeentakenasgrantedbytheem‐
ployeesand thereforealsobe integrated in the technicalandeconomicalpartsof the
training.
On the other side the situation of the hybrid strategy of Holcim. At the production
plants, where the eco‐friendly co‐production has been established, the focus of the
trainingistoshowtheneedforthecoexistenceofthetwoworlds.Itistheaimtoestab‐
lish an understanding for the ‘green’ business section and to ensure the knowledge
transferacrosstheboundaries.Themissionofthetrainingistoguaranteeaminimum
know‐howandunderstandingonbothsidesforthehybridwayofoperation.
With theexampleof the lessons learnedaround training, twodifferentpreconditions
forHRhavebeenpresented.AccordingtotheCES,thetrainingthatgoeswiththeCEI
mustfollowdifferentobjectivesandcontents. It istheperceptionforsuchpointsthat
has tobesharpenedtoestablishaneffectivetraining,whichenforces theskillsof the
employees according the environmental strategy. This is one further factor,why the
roleandthescopeoftheHRinterventiondifferacrossCEI.Thenextparagraphthere‐
forefocusesontherolesbeingtakenbytheseveralHRfunctions.
!"#$%$%&'('
)*+*,-./*%0'
123'/450'6*'$%0*&"#0*7'
$%'08*'9+*"#,,'!"#$%$%&'
:"-&"#//'
)*+*,-.';%7*"50#%7$%&'
<-"'=>"**%?'@45$%*55'
A*BC-%'
!D.*'@' 8D6"$7'
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 81
6.3 Human Resource Management’s Roles in Corporate Environmental
Initiatives
ThissectionwillfocusonthedifferentrolesofHRMencounteredinthethreecasestud‐
ies.Theempiricalparthas shown three specific contextsof aCEI and corresponding
rolesandresponsibilities.Theanalysisherewillsumupthefindingsfromthecasesand
assesstheminthemodelforkeyrolesoftheHRM,aspresentedinthechapter4ofthis
work. Based on the findings, some general advice for role taking and assignment of
responsibilitiesinthecontextofCEIwillbederived,alsowithregardtocentralization
anddecentralizationofcertainfunctions.
6.3.1 AssessmentoftheLessonsLearnedintheKeyRolesModel
Inthetheoreticalpartofthework,asetofpossiblerolesofHRMinthecompanyhas
beenpresented.Each function, involved in thedevelopment and theexecutionof the
CEI,cantakeadifferentrolewithintheprocess.Therangeofrolesreachesfromchange
facilitator to the strategic partner. The change facilitator is only responsible for the
executionwithin a fixed planwithout high involvement. The strategic partner steers
the process by bringing together all necessary stakeholders and skills. The strategic
partner reflects the highest level of involvement. In between, two other roles exist.
First, the innovatorbringsnew, groundbreaking ideasand concept to the team.With
thatknow‐how,theteamisabletodeveloptheCEIaccordingly.Second,thecollabora‐
tor shares with the team of the CEI the necessary know‐how for the execution and
thereforeactivelyhelpsinintegratingtheCEIintothecompany.
Accordingtheschemaforpossibleroles,theCEIfromthecasestudieshavebeenana‐
lyzedandassigned to the four rolesof themodel.The following table listsall theHR
function,whichwereinvolvedintheCEIofthecases.Basedontheinformationofthe
investigations,anassessmentoftheirroleaccordingthemodeltakesplace.Thecolumn
ontherightsideprovidesadditionalinformationfortherespectivefunction.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 82
Table5:AssessmentofRolesbeingtakenintheCaseStudies.
Nameofthecase,affectedHRMfunc‐tionandrolesymbol:
Assessmentinthekeyrolesmodelandexplanations:
Galenica HRPolicies
Collaborator:GuidancefortheconductionoftheCEI,theenvi‐ronmentalcodeofconductisrecognizedasanof‐ficialpolicyfortheemployees
HRTraining
StrategicPartner:Thedecentralizedtrainingfunctionactsasaco‐ordinator,integratorandfacilitatorforthewholetrainingprogram
Geberit
HRCompensations,TalentMgmt
Collaborator:ThegroupHRintegratesthetrainingsintheover‐allHRprocessesascompensationsandtalentmanagement
Holcim HRTraining,Re‐cruiting,Policies
Collaborator:ThelocalHRactsasanexecutionpartnerfortheCEIinthecountryintermsofrecruitmentofnewemployees,trainingandaccordingHRpolicies.
As itcanbeseen,mostof theHR functions involved in theactivitiesof the initiatives
tooktheroleofthecollaborator.Theysupportedtheexecutionandimplementationof
theCEIwiththeirspecialknowledge.Inonecase,theHRfunctionplaystheroleofthe
strategicpartner.ItistheinitiativeformGeberit,wheretheemployeetraininghasbeen
analyzed.Inthatcase,theHRfunctionbroughttogetherthenecessaryskillsandman‐
agedtheprocessholistically.
Moregenerally,theidealroledependsonthescopeoftheinitiative.Whenthescopeof
theCEIcompletelyaffects thecorecompetencesof theHR function, then the lead for
theinitiativeshouldlieintheirhands.Anexampleforthisisthetraininginitiativefrom
Geberit.Ontheotherhand,whenaCEIonlyaffectsthecompetencespartly,acontribu‐
tion to the initiativeascollaborator isadequate.Anexample for thiscasereflects the
wastesolutionfromHolcim,wheretrainingwasnecessarybutnotthemainobjective
oftheCEI.
Asthecasestudiesshow,theroleoftheinnovatorisalwaysoutsidetheHRarea.The
innovatorswereexpertgroupswithknowledgeaboutsustainability.Onepossibilityfor
gaininginnovativeknow‐howontheHRsidewouldbetobuildvirtualcommunitiesto
developinnovativeideasintheareaofHR,whichcouldbetransferredintocorporate
initiatives.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 83
6.3.2 DifferencesinCentralizationversusDecentralizationofHRFunctions
Regarding theorganizational structureof the involvedHR functions, thecasesdistin‐
guishedoftenbetweencentralgroupfunctionsanddecentralizedlocalfunctions.From
atheoreticalpointofview,functionsthatareabletocreatesynergiesintheirworkthat
can be multiplied to other departments should be organized centrally. Functions,
where local specialties and requirements are crucial, the decentralized approach ap‐
pearsmost effective. The following illustration shows the findings from case studies
regardingtheorganizationalframeworkofthefunctions.
Fig.35:OrganizationalAspectsoftheHRFunctions.
Functionstypicallylocatedinthegroupheadquarteraretopicsrelatedtopoliciesand
strategies. This is in linewith the theoretical standard since the central steering can
create synergieshereby applying thework to several departments. Training and re‐
cruitinghavebeenseenasdecentralizedresponsibilitiessince,especiallywithregards
toenvironmentalmatters,theskillsandtherequirementsdiffersignificantlyacrossthe
locations. According to the position, the required competences of the functions have
beenlistedintheillustrationabove.Forcentralfunctions,knowledgetransferandsup‐
porthavebeenseenascrucial.Fordecentralizedfunctions,theawarenessoflocalspe‐
cialtiesrepresentsthekeysuccesspoint.
!"#$%&'(&
)*+*&,#-./.)01&23"43)+.)0&
5#/4-&'(&
)*+*&6"4.7.7+1&()/"$.87+1&
!"#$%&-)9)-1&/)73"4-& 5#/4-&-)9)-1&:)/)73"4-&
();$."):&<#=%)3)7/)0>&
•! ?7#@&3A)&B79."#7=)734-&&
2C.--0&#D&3A)&B=%-#E))0&
•! B79."#7=)734-&6"4.7.7+&47:&
F7D#"=48#7&2)00.#70&
•! ?7#@&3A)&5#/4-&54G#"&H4"C)3&
D#"&B79."#7=)734-&0C.--0&
•! I/3&40&/#=%)3)73&BJ)/$8#7&
,4"37)"&D#"&<BF&
();$."):&<#=%)3)7/)0>&
•! <##":.743)&47:&4-.+7&'(&
,"#/)00)0&@.3A&<BF&
•! F73)+"43)&B79."#7=)734-&
,#-./.)0&.7&'(&K"4=)@#"C&
•! B7/#$"4+)&B=%#@)"=)73&
D#"&L#M#=N$%&F7.8489)0&
•! B70$")&6#%NH474+)=)73&
2$%%#"3&D#"&<BF&&
<)73"4-.O48#7&& P)/)73"4-.O48#7&9)"0$0&
P)/)73"4-&:)/.0.#7&=4C)"0&
<)73"4-&:)/.0.#7&=4C)"0&
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 84
6.4 WhiteSpotsintheLessonsLearned
For thepreparationof the case studies, a rangeofHRactivitieshavebeen identified,
whichareaffectedbyaCEIfromatheoreticalpointofview.Thefollowingillustration
addstothefigureandassessesthethreecasestudiesonthatframework.
Fig.36:AffectedHRActivitiesintheCaseStudies.
ThefigureshowsthatallactivitiesidentifiedasrelevantforCEIhavebeenaffectedat
least trough one case of the empirical part of thework. The employee trainings that
wereincludedintheHolcimandintheGeberitcasestudyaswell,werealsosubjectof
cross‐analysisinthesectionsbefore.
The illustration uncovers aswell that in two of the cases several HR functionswere
involvedandinthecaseofGalenica,HRwasonlypartlyinvolved.Fromapuretheoreti‐
calpointofview,each initiative thataffects theemployeesof thecompany,everyHR
activity should be involved in some extends. This has several reasons. First, in each
initiative, where employee behavior is subject to change, the according incentives
shouldbeadaptedtoo.Thishasanimpactonthecompensationsactivitybutalsoonthe
talentmanagement,becausenewmanagementskillsarerequired.Ontheotherhand,a
newdesiredemployeebehaviorhasanimpactontheskillsoftheemployees.Herethe
recruitingbutalso the traininganddevelopmentactivity isaffected.Andas thecases
showed,initiativeshaveoftenalsoanimpactonthepolicies.So,thefullrangeofactivi‐
tiesistheoreticallyaffectedbytheinitiatives.Thisrepresentsaspotforfurtherinvesti‐
gation.Thequestionis,ifthemissingactivitieswereinvolvedinahiddenwayorreally
outofscopefortheinitiatives.Andfollowingthatquestion,whattheeffectofthemiss‐
inginvolvementwas.
!"#$
!%&'()*$
+%,-.-/0$
12(-)-)3$4$
5/6/,%'&/)7$
!%&'/)8
0(9%)0$
1(,/)7$:3&7$
;(,/)-.($
;/</2-7$
=/.2>-9)3$
?%,.-&$
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 85
7 Conclusion
ThethesishasfocusedonCEIandtheirimplementationindifferentstrategiccontexts.
Environmental strategies canbe represented through ideal typesof strategies,which
weredescribed in themodel forCES.Here the typeA strategydescribeda corporate
riskmitigationandcontrolstrategy,whereenvironmental issuesareseenasathreat.
ThetypeBstrategyoutlinedasituation,whereenvironmentalmattersarerecognized
asanopportunity fornewenvironmental‐friendlybusinessmodels.Thesecondstrat‐
egy leads to a deep transformation of the core processes and values. In situations,
wherepiecesoftypeAandBareatthesametimepartoftheCES,ahybridstrategycan
occur.Inthiscase,theco‐existenceoftheoldandnewbusinessmodelsisdesired.
Asthewayofputtingstrategyintopractice,theCEIhavebeendescribed.Aninitiative
alwayscoverscertainneedsandobjectives.Fromaconceptualpointofview,thescope
differs between typeA andB initiatives. CEI form typeA target certain issues of the
businessactivities,identifiedthroughthecorporateriskmanagement.CEIfromtypeB
arepartofanoveralltransformationalplan,whichaimstorebuildthecoreprocesses
andthevaluesintoaneco‐friendlysystem.
Basedonthedifferenttypeofinitiatives,therequirementstowardsHRhavebeeniden‐
tified.ArolemodelshowedtherangeofrolesthatcouldbetakenbyHRintheprocess
ofaCEI.Therolesreachfromchangefacilitatortothestrategicpartneroftheinitiative.
Theframeworkofdifferentinitiativesandtheconsiderationsabouttheinvolvementof
HRintheCEIrepresentedthebaselinefortheempiricalpartofthethesis.
In the empirical part of the thesis, three cases involving a Swiss companyhavebeen
identified.Thecasestudiesarebasedondeskresearchandextendedinterviewswith
professionalsformthecompanies.Itwastheaimtodescribetheinitiativesfromdiffer‐
entangles,ideallyformthecorporatesustainabilityside,thelocalimplementationside
andtheHRview.ThecasestudieshaveresultedinthreedescriptionofaCEIrelatedto
theirunderlyingenvironmentalstrategy.Withinthespecificcontextofthecompanies,
lessonslearnedformthecaseshavebeenderived.
Afterwards, the caseshavebeen analyzed across eachother.The findingswere com‐
pared, forexample inthefieldof training.Thecaseshaveshownmajordifferences in
thescopeandtheintentionofthetrainings,whichcouldbeexplainedbythestrategic
background of the initiative. Additionally, the form of effectivemanagement support
hasbeenanalyzed.Here, thefocusofmanagement involvementgoesaccordingtothe
CES.WhereasfortypeAstrategytheconcreteinitiativeisinscopeofthesupport,the
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 86
typeBstrategycreatesageneralunderstanding for theenvironmentalmatter ingen‐
eral rather than thesupport for theconcrete initiative.And in theviewof thehybrid
strategy,itistheaimofthemanagementsupportistocreateanatmosphereofunder‐
standingandawarenessoftheco‐existenceofthetwoworlds.
Tosumuptheresultsofthiswork,theclassificationofthestrategiesandtheinitiatives
intothreetypeshashelpedtoderiveandexplainconcrete lessonslearned,whichhas
beendiscussedinthecorrespondingstrategiccontextofthecompany.
Althoughthemodelfortheclassificationofthethreetypesisbasedonawiderangeof
literature,themodelhasnotbeenassessedwithabiggernumberofcasesyet.Afield
forfurtherinvestigationwouldthereforebetochecktheappropriatenessofthemodel
toabiggersample.
Withthetreecases,awiderangeofHRactivityhasbeencoveredbytheseveralcases.
However,thewhitespotanalysisstatedthehypothesisthateveryactivityshouldoccur
ineverycase.Thereforeanadditional fieldof furtheranalysiswouldbe toassess the
impactofmissingHRactivitiesinthescopeofCEI.
Howeverthesequestionsremainopen,thethesishashelpedtoanalyzeandunderstand
thematterofenvironmentalsustainabilityinthecontextofthecorporatestrategy.Fur‐
thermore,aframeworkforanalysisofCEIhasbeendevelopedandappliedtothecase
studies. The interaction ofHR andCEI has been described form a theoretical and an
empiricalpointofview.Thederivedlessonslearnedallowanapplicationforpractitio‐
nersbutalsoforfurtherresearchofscientists.Thisworkcontributedtothediscussion
of the involvementand the roleofHRwith concreteempirical examplesandderived
general leanings, includingthe levelofstrategybutalsotheexecutionof theenviron‐
mentalmatterthoughCEI.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 87
ListofLiterature
Amber,S.&Lanoie,P.(2008):DoesItPaytoBeGreen?ASystematicOverview.The
AcademyofManagementPerspectives,22(2008)4,p.45‐62.
Ashforth,B.E.(2001):Roletransitionsinorganizationallife.1stEdition.Mahwah:Law‐
renceErlbaumAssociates.
Bowen,D.E.&Ostroff,C.(2004):UnderstandingHRM‐FirmPerformanceLinkages:The
Roleofthe“Strenght”oftheHRMSystem.TheAcademyofManagementReview,
29(2004)2,p.203‐221.
Brass,B.M.&Riggio,R.E.(2006):Transformationalleadership.2ndEdition.Mahwah:
LawrenceErlbaumAssociates.
Brundtland,G.H.&Khalid,M.(1987):ReportoftheWorldCommissiononEnviron‐
mentandDevelopment:OurCommonFuture.In:
http://www.un‐documents.net/wced‐ocf.htm,visitedonMai25th2010.
Campbell,J.L.(2007):WhywouldCorporationsbehaveinsociallyresponsibleways?
AninstitutionaltheoryofCorporateSocialResponsibility.AcademyofManage
mentReview,32(2007)3,p.946–967.
Crosbie,L.,Knight,K.(1995):StrategyforSustainableBusiness.1stEdition.London:
McGraw‐Hill.
DelmasM.A.&Montes‐SanchoM.J.(2010):VoluntaryAgreementstoImproveEnvi‐
ronmentalQuality:SymbolicandSubstantiveCooperation.StrategicManage
mentJournal,31(2010)6,p.575‐601.
Doppelt,B.(2003):Leadingchangetowardsustainability:achange‐managementguide
forbusiness,governmentandcivilsociety.1stEdition.Sheffield:GreenleafPub‐
lishing.
Doppelt,B.(2008):Thepowerofsustainablethinking:howtocreateapositivefuture
fortheclimate,theplanet,yourorganizationandyourlife.1stEdition.London:
Earthscan.
Drucker,P.F.(1988):TheComingoftheNewOrganization.HarvardBusinessReview,
66(1998)1,p.3‐11.
Dunphy,D.,Benveniste,J.,Griffiths,A.&Sutton,P.(2000):Sustainability–Thecorpo‐
ratechallengeofthe21stcentury.1stEdition.CrowsNest:Allen&Unwin.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 88
Dunphy,D.,Griffiths,A.&Benn,S.(2007):OrganizationalChangeforCorporate
Sustainability‐Aguideforleadersandchangeagentsofthefuture.2ndEdition.
MiltonPark:Routledge.
Ehrenfeld,J.R.(1998):Culturalstructureandthechallengeofsustainability.In:Seton,
K.(ed.):BetterEnvironmentDecisions.1stEdition.Washington:IslandPress.
ElkingtonJ.(1994):Towardsthesustainablecorporation:win–win–winbusiness
strategiesforsustainabledevelopment.CaliforniaManagementReview,
36(1994)2,p.90‐100.
Elkington,J.(1999):CanibalswithForks‐Thetriplebottomlineof21stcenturybusi‐
ness.2ndEdition.Oxford:CapstonePublishingLimited.
Figge,F.,Hahn,T.,Schaltegger,S.,&Wagner,M.(2002):Thesustainabilitybalanced
scorecard:Linkingsustainabilitymanagementtobusinessstrategy.Business
StrategyandtheEnvironment,11(2002)5,p.269‐284.
Galenica(2010):AnnualReport2009.In:
http://www.galenica.com/wAssetsGalenica/bin/en/publikationen/anual‐
report/2009/geschaeftsbericht2009‐E.pdf,visitedonJuly15th2010.
Glavas,A.,Senge,P.&Cooperrider,D.L.(2010):BuildingaGreenCityonaBlueLake–
AModelforBuildingaLocalSustainableEconomy.People&Strategy,
33(2010)1,p.26‐33.
Geberit(2010):SustainabilityReport2010oftheGalenicaGroupandGalenicaLtd.In:
http://www3.geberit.com/sustainability/_downloads/2010/Geberit_Sustainab
ility_2010_E.pdf,visitedonJune20th,2010.
GRI(2009):G3Guidelines.In:
http://www.globalreporting.org/ReportingFramework/ReportingFrameworkD
ownloads,visitedonJune15th,2010.
Gubrium,J.F.&Holstein,J.A.(2002):HandbookofInterviewResearch:Context&
Method.1stEdition.ThousandOaks:SagePublicaitions.
Halme,M.&LaurilaJ.(2009):Philanthropy,IntegrationorInnovation?Exploringthe
FinancialandSocietalOutcomesofDifferentTypesofCorporateResponsibility.
JournalofBusinessEthics,84(2009)3,p.325‐339.
Harris,M.&Raviv,A.(2002):OrganizationDesign.ManagementScience,48(2002)7,p.
852‐865.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 89
Hart,S.L.(1997):Beyondgreening:strategiesforasustainableworld.HarvardBusi
nessReview,75(1997)1,p.66‐76.
Henriques,I.&Sadorsky,P.(1996):Thedeterminantsofanenvironmentallyrespon‐
sivefirm:Anempiricalapproach.JournalofEnvironmentalEconomicsandMan
agement,29(1996)1,p.11‐23.
Hofstra,N.A.,Timar,J.A.,Verdonk,H.R.&deWalle,F.B.(1990):Milieubedrijfsvoering,
ProblemenenPerspectieven.Rotterdam:SamsomTjeenkWillink.
Holcim(2008):FactSheet‐AlternativeFuels&RawMaterials(AFR),in:
http://www.holcim.com/holcimweb/gc/CORP/uploads/Holcim_FactSheet_AFR
_2008.pdf,visitedonJune22nd2010.
Holcim(2010):AnnualReport2009HolcimLtd,in:
http://www.holcim.com/holcimweb/gc/CORP/uploads/AR_2009.pdf,visited
onJune22nd2010.
Holcim(2010a):CorporateSustainabilityDevelopmentReport2009,in:
http://www.holcim.com/holcimweb/gc/CORP/uploads/SD_report.pdf,visited
onJune22nd2010.
Huselid,M.A.(1995):TheImpactofHumanResourceManagementPracticesonTurn‐
over,Productivity,andCorporateFinancialPerformance.AcademyofManage
mentJournal,38(1995)3,p.635‐672.
Huselid,M.A.,Jackson,S.E.&Schuler,R.S.(1997):TechnicalandStrategicHumanRe‐
sourceManagementEffectivenessasDeterminantsofFirmPerformance.Acad
emyofManagementJournal,40(1997)1,p.171‐188.
IntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange(IPCC)(2007):ClimateChangeSynthesis
Report.In:
http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_ipcc_fourth_assessme
nt_report_synthesis_report.htm,visitedonJune26th2010.
ISO(2009):Environmentalmanagement‐TheISO14000familyofInternationalStan‐
dards.1stEdition.Geneve:ISOCentralSecretariat.
Jabbour,C.J.C.,Santos,F.C.A.,Nagano,M.S.(2010):ContributionsofHRMthroughout
thestagesofenvironmentalmanagement:methodologicaltriangulationapplied
tocompaniesinBarzil.TheInternationalJournalofHumanResourceManage‐
ment.21(2010)7,p.1049‐1089.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 90
Kaplan,R.S.,&Norton,D.R.(2005):Thebalancedscorecard:Measuresthatdriveper‐
formance.HarvardBusinessReview,83(2005)7/8,p.172‐180.
Kolk,A.&Mauser,A.(2002):TheEvolutionofEnvironmentalManagement:FromStage
ModelstoPerformanceEvaluation.BusinessStrategyandtheEnvironment,
11(2002)1,p.14‐31.
Lashley,C.(2001):Empowerment–HRStrategiesforServiceExcellence.1stEdition.
Oxford:Butterworth‐Heinemann.
Lai,K.,Cheng,T.C.E.&Tang,A.K.Y.(2010):GreenRetailing:FactorsforSuccess.Cali
forniaManagementReview,52(2010)2,p.6‐31.
Länsiluoto,A.&Järvenpää,M.(2010):Greeningthebalancedscorecard.BusinessHori‐
zons.53(2010)4,p.385‐395.
Losey,M.,Meisinger,S.&Ulrich,D.(2005):Thefutureofhumanresourcemanagement:
64thoughtleadersexplorethecriticalHRissuesoftodayandtomorrow.1st
Edition.Alexandria:SocietyforHumanResourceManagement.
Lubin,D.A.&Esty,D.C.(2010):TheBigIdea:TheSustainableImperative.Harvard
BusinessReview,88(2010)5,p.42‐50.
Malone,T.W.(1999):Is‘empowerment’justafad?Control,decision‐making,andin‐
formationtechnology.BTTechnolJournal,17(1999)4,p.141‐144.
Marcus,A.A.&Fremeth,A.R.(2009):GreenManagementMattersRegardless.Academy
ofManagementPerspectives,23(2003)3,p.17‐26.
Marschan‐Piekkari,R./Welch,C.(2004):Handbookofqualitativeresearchmethods
forinternationalbusiness.1stEdition.Cheltenham:EdwardElgarPublishing.
Nidumolu,R.,Prahalad,C.K.&Rangaswami,M.R.(2009):WhySustainabilityisNow
theKeyDriverofInnovation.HawardBusinessReview,87(2009)9,p.56‐64.
Pedersen,E.R.(2010):ModellingCSR:HowManagersUnderstandtheResponsibilities
ofBusinessTowardsSociety.JournalofBusinessEthics,91(2010)2,p.155‐166.
Petulla,J.M.(1987):EnvironmentalProtectionintheUnitedStates.1stEdition.San
Francisco:SanFranciscoStudyCenter.
Porter,M.E.(1996):America’sGreenStrategy.In:Welford,R.&Starkey,R.(ed.).Busi‐
nessandtheenvironment–areader.1stEdition.WashingtonDC:Taylor&
Francis.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 91
Porter,M.E.&Kramer,M.R.(2006):Strategy&Society–TheLinkBetweenCompeti‐
tiveAdvantageandCorporateSocialResponsibility.HarvardBusinessReview,
84(2006)12,p.78‐92.
Porter,M.E.(2008):OnCompetition.11thEdition.Boston:HarvardBusinessSchool
Publishing.
Rosen,C.(2001):EnvironmentalStrategyandCompetitiveAdvantage:AnIntroduction.
CaliforniaManagementReview,43(2001)3,p.8‐15.
Rugman,A.M.&Verbeke,A.(1998):CorporateStrategiesandEnvironmentalRegula‐
tions:AnOrganizationalFramework.StrategicManagementJournal,19(1998)4,
p.363‐375.
SAM(2010):TheSustainabilityYearbook2010.In:http://www.sam‐
group.com/htmld/yearbook/downloads/The_Sustainability_Yearbook_2010_FI
NAL.pdf,visitedonJuly15th,2010.
Schuler,R.S.&Jackson,S.E.(2001):HRManditsLinkwithStrategicManagement.In:
JohnStorey(ed).HumanResourceManagement:ACriticalText.2ndEdition.
London:InternationalThomson.
Shari,A.(2010):Perspectives–Counterpoints.People&Strategy.33(2010)1,p.14.
TheDailyHerald–Tribune(2010,June17th):GulfofMexicooilspillfiascopopularin
socialnetworking.ThursdayJune17th,2010,p.2.
TheNewYorkTimes(2010,June26th):Day66:TheLatestOntheOilSpill.Saturday
June26th,2010,p.10.
UNGlobalCompact(2004):EmbeddingHumanRightsinBusinessPractices.In:
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/Embeddingen.pdf,visitedon
June2nd2010.
UNCTAD(1993):EnvironmentalManagementinTransnationalCorporations.Research
ontheBenchmarkCorporateEnvironmentalSurvey.1stEdition.NewYork:
UnitedNations.
VanMarrewijk,M.,Wuisman,I.,DeCleyn,W.,Timmers,J.,Panapanaan,V.&Linnanen,
L.(2004):APhase‐wiseDevelopmentApproachtoBusinessExcellence:To‐
wardsanInnovative,Stakeholder‐orientedAssessmentToolforOrganizational
ExcellenceandCSR.JournalofBusinessEthics,55(2004)2,p.83‐98.
Weathington,B.L.,Cunningham,C.J.L.,Pittenger,D.J.(2010):ResearchMethodsfor
theBehavioralandSocialSciences.1stEdition.Hoboken:JohnWiley&Sons.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 92
Winn,M.I.&Angell,A.C.(2000):Towardsaprocessmodelofcorporategreening.Or
ganizationStudies,21(2000)6,p.1117‐1147.
Wirtenberg,J.,Harmon,J.,RussellW.G.&Fairfield,K.(2007):HR'sroleinbuildinga
sustainableenterprise.HumanResourcePlanning,30(2007)1,p.10‐20.
WorldCouncilforSustainableDevelopment(ed.)(2007):DrivingSuccess–Human
resourcesandsustainabledevelopment.In:
http://www.wbcsd.org/web/publications/hr.pdf,visitedonJune28th2010.
Wright,P.M.,Dunford,B.B.&Snell,S.A.(2007):Humanresourcesandtheresource
basedviewofthefirm.In:Schuler,R.S.&Jackson,S.E.(ed.):StrategicHuman
ResourceManagement.2ndEdition.Oxford:BlackwellPublishing.
Wright,P.M.&Boswell,W.R.(2002):DesegregatingHRM:AReviewandSynthesisof
MicroandMacroHumanResourceManagementResearch.JournalofManage
ment,28(2002)3,p.247‐276.
Zyglidopoulos,S.C.(2002):TheSocialandEnvironmentalResponsibilitiesofMultina‐
tionals:EvidencefromtheBrentSparCase.JournalofBusinessEthics,
36(2002)1/2,p.141–151.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 93
AppendixI:ListoftheInterviewPartners
CaseStudyGalenica
Contactdetailsofthecompany:
GalenicaLtd.
Untermattweg8
CH‐3027Bern
Phone:+41588528111
Contact:info@galenica.com
Name RoleandDescription
Mr.Henzi HeadofLegalandResponsible forSustainabilityatGalenicaGroup
Ms.Tanner Responsible for ProcessManagement for the division Logistics, in‐
volvedintheCEIfortheenvironmentalcodeofconduct
Mr.Clémençent Head of Business Sector Logistics, where the CEI was conducted
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 94
CaseStudyGeberit
Contactdetailsofthecompany:
GeberitInternationalAG
Schachenstrasse77
CH‐8645Jona
Phone:+41552216300
Contactemail:corporate.communications@geberit.com
Name RoleandDescription
Mr.Hoegger HeadofEnvironmentandSustainability
Ms.Huber TeammemberofSustainabilityFunction
Mr.Held HeadCorporateHumanResources
Mr.Wylder HeadofTechnicalTrainingGeberitProductionAG
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 95
CaseStudyHolcim
Contactdetailsofthecompany:
HolcimGroupSupportLtd
Hagenholzstrasse85
CH‐8050Zurich
Phone+41588585858
Contact:barbara.dubach@holcim.com
Name RoleandDescription
Ms.Dubach HolcimGroupSupportLtd,
SustainableDevelopment
Mr.Awcock HolcimGroupSupportLtd,
VPCorporateLeadershipDevelopment
Mr.Wögerbauer HolcimGroupSupportLtd,
DeputyHeadofDivisionforAlternativeEnergies
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 96
AppendixII:DocumentsformtheEmpiricalProcess
Examplesofopenquestioncollection(inGerman):
HeadofSustainability:
Frageleitfaden zur Untersuchung “Environmental Sustainability and HRM” Verantwortlich: Serafin Bäbler, Tel. +41 76 421 21 46, E-mail: serafin.baebler@access.uzh.ch Fallstudie: Geberit AG, G1 Interviewpartner: Herr Högger, Responsible for Sustainability at Geberit Group Zeit und Ort: Dienstag, 3.8.2010 Dieser Frageleitfaden umfasst Fragen für ein Interview im Rahmen der Untersuchung der Universität Zürich. Weitere Informationen zur Untersuchung sind im beigelegten Informationsbrief ersichtlich. Wir danken Ihnen sehr herzlich für die Teilnahme und die Bereitschaft, Ihr Wissen mit uns zu teilen. 14.7.2010 Teil 1: Einstiegsfragen: - Was ist Ihre genaue Position und Funktion im Unternehmen? - Was gehört zu den Aufgaben Ihrer Position? - weiteres: Teil 2: Allgemeine Informationen zur Corporate Environmental Strategy von Geberit: - Welchen Stellenwert hat Nachhaltigkeit für Geberit? - Wie hat sich das Verständnis von Nachhaltigkeit über die letzten Jahre für Geberit verändert? - Was sind die strategischen Grundpfeiler der Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie von Geberit? - Wie ist die Verantwortung für das Thema Nachhaltigkeit grundsätzlich bei Geberit organisiert? - Was für Initiativen im Bereich Environmental Sustainability hat die Geberit in der Vergangenheit verfolgt und was für Initiativen sind im Moment aktuell? - Über was für Kanäle wird Nachhaltigkeit den Mitarbeitern vermittelt? Teil 3: Umwelt und Recycling Training der Geberit Produktions AG - Was waren die Auslöser und die Bedürfnisse für die spezifische Schulung in der Produktions AG? - Lässt sich ein Bezug zu Indikatoren im Nachhaltigkeitsreporting herstellen?
z.bsp. Energieverbrauch, Abfallmenge, Wasserverbrauch
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 97
- Wie würden Sie die Auswirkung der Schulung auf die Mitarbeiter beschreiben? - Wie haben Vorgesetzte und das Management auf die Schulung reagiert? Teil 5: Diskussion und Schlussfolgerungen - Wie kann eine solche Nachhaltigkeitsschulung das Verständnis für die Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie beein-flussen? - Was würden Sie einem Unternehmen raten, welches eine ähnliche Schulung durchführen möchte? - Wie hat die Organisation durch die Schulung profitiert? - Was sind Ihre persönlichen „Lessons Learned“ aus der Schulung?
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 98
QuestiontoaTeamMemberoftheCEI:
Frageleitfaden zur Untersuchung “Environmental Sustainability and HRM” Verantwortlich: Serafin Bäbler, Tel. +41 76 421 21 46, E-mail: serafin.baebler@access.uzh.ch Fallstudie: Geberit AG, G1 Interviewpartner: Herr Wydler, Schulungsleiter Produktion Rapperswil-Jona Zeit und Ort: zu bestimmen Dieser Frageleitfaden umfasst Fragen für ein Interview im Rahmen der Untersuchung der Universität Zürich. Weitere Informationen zur Untersuchung sind im beigelegten Informationsbrief ersichtlich. Wir danken Ihnen sehr herzlich für die Teilnahme und die Bereitschaft, Ihr Wissen mit uns zu teilen. 14.7.2010 Teil 1: Einstiegsfragen: - Was ist Ihre genaue Position und Funktion im Unternehmen? - Was gehört zu den Aufgaben Ihrer Position? - weiteres: Teil 2: Allgemeine Informationen zur Schulung: - Für welchen Bereich wird die Schulung durchgeführt? - Wie ist der Bereich im Groben organisiert (Aufbau- und Ablauforganisation)? - Wie ist die Verantwortung für das Thema ökologische Nachhaltigkeit in diesem Bereich geregelt? - Was prägt die Unternehmenskultur in diesem Bereich aus Ihrer Sicht? - Wie würden Sie die allgemeine Einstellung der Mitarbeiter gegenüber dem Thema Nachhaltigkeit be-
schreiben? - Was war der Auslöser / die Gründe für die Nachhaltigkeitsschulung? - Wie würden Sie die Einstellung des Managements gegenüber dieser Schulung beschreiben? - Wer war der Auftraggeber der Schulung? Wer hat bei der Ausarbeitung der Schulung mitgearbeitet? - weiteres: Teil 3: Form und Inhalt der Schulung: - Wie ist der offizielle Name respektive wie lässt sich die Schulung am ehesten bezeichnen? - Seit wann wird die Schulung in dieser oder ähnlicher Form durchgeführt?
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 99
- Wer ist das Zielpublikum der Schulung? - Was ist das Ziel der Nachhaltigkeits-Schlung? Besteht eine Verbindung zum Nachhaltigkeitsreporting
von Geberit? - Welche Form der Schulung wird angewandt (Präsenz, Selbststudium, Online) und was umfasst die
Schulung zeitlich? - Was sind die Lernziele der Schulung? Wie werden die Lernziele überprüft? - Was für Dokumente werden den Teilnehmenden abgegeben? - Wie ist die Schulung in andere Aktivitäten (andere Schulungen) oder Kommunikation (z.bsp. Mitarbei-
terkommunikation) integriert? - Wie unterstützt die Schulung das Verständnis der Unternehmensstrategie des Mitarbeitenden? - Was sind die Kosten, die im Zusammenhang mit der Schulung entstehen? Teil 4: Resultate der Schulung - Wie hat sich die Schulung Ihrer Meinung nach im Betrieb ausgewirkt? - Lässt sich ein Bezug zu Indikatoren im Nachhaltigkeitsreporting herstellen?
z.bsp. Energieverbrauch, Abfallmenge, Wasserverbrauch - Wie würden Sie die Auswirkung der Schulung auf die Mitarbeiter beschreiben? - Wie haben Vorgesetzte und das Management auf die Schulung reagiert? - Was waren die Schwierigkeiten im Zusammenhang mit der Planung und Durchführung der Schulung? Teil 5: Diskussion und Schlussfolgerungen - Was sind die Voraussetzungen für eine erfolgreiche Schulung? - Auf welche Bereiche würde sich diese Schulung übertragen lassen? - Was würden Sie einem Unternehmen raten, welches eine ähnliche Schulung durchführen möchte? - Wo sehen Sie die möglichen Stolpersteine / Gefahrenquellen einer solchen Schulung? - Wie hat die Organisation durch die Schulung profitiert? - Was sind Ihre persönlichen „Lessons Learned“ aus der Schulung?
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 100
HeadofCorporateHR:
Frageleitfaden zur Untersuchung “Environmental Sustainability and HRM” Verantwortlich: Serafin Bäbler, Tel. +41 76 421 21 46, E-mail: serafin.baebler@access.uzh.ch Fallstudie: Geberit AG, G1 Interviewpartner: Herr Held, Head of HR at Geberit Group Zeit und Ort: Dienstag, 3.8.2010 Dieser Frageleitfaden umfasst Fragen für ein Interview im Rahmen der Untersuchung der Universität Zürich. Weitere Informationen zur Untersuchung sind im beigelegten Informationsbrief ersichtlich. Wir danken Ihnen sehr herzlich für die Teilnahme und die Bereitschaft, Ihr Wissen mit uns zu teilen. 14.7.2010 Teil 1: Einstiegsfragen: - Wie ist Ihre genaue Position und Funktion im Unternehmen? - Was gehört zu den Aufgaben Ihrer Position? - weiteres: Teil 2: Wahrnehmung von Environmental Sustainability und Human Resource Management (HRM) - Welchen Stellenwert hat Nachhaltigkeit für Geberit aus Ihrer Perspektive? - Welche Anknüpfungspunkte hat die Strategie von HR mit der Corporate Sustainability Strategy? - Was für Initiativen im Bereich Environmental Sustainability haben Sie aus HR verfolgt, durchgeführt oder unterstützt? Teil 3: Umwelt und Recycling Training der Geberit Produktions AG - Wie ist die Verantwortung für Trainings von Mitarbeitern im Allgemeinen bei Ihnen organisiert? Was sind die Rollen der verschiedenen HR Einheiten im Bereich der Trainings und insbesondere der Nachhal-tigkeitsschulungen. - Was sind die Anknüpfungspunkte von anderen HR Bereichen wie Talentmanagement, Beförderungs-entscheide oder Lohnsystemen zu den Schulungen?
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 101
- Wie würden Sie die Auswirkung der Schulung auf die Mitarbeiter beschreiben? - Wie haben Vorgesetzte und das Management auf die Schulung reagiert? Teil 5: Diskussion und Schlussfolgerungen - Wie kann eine solche Nachhaltigkeitsschulung das Verständnis für die Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie beein-flussen? - Was würden Sie einem Unternehmen raten, welches eine ähnliche Schulung durchführen möchte? - Wie hat die Organisation durch die Schulung profitiert? - Was sind Ihre persönlichen „Lessons Learned“ aus der Schulung?
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 102
AppendixIII:SupplementaryDocumentsformtheCaseStud‐
ies
Materialsprovidedbythecompaniesascontributiontothecasestudies.
CaseStudyGalenica:
Galexis, ein Unternehmen der Galenica Gruppe
ÖKO-VERHALTENSKODEX Niederbipp, 01. Juli 2010
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 103
Öko-Verhaltenskodex Niederbipp, 01. Juli 2010 2
Titel
Datum
Seite
Öko-Verhaltenskodex GALEXIS AG 01. Juli 2010
I. ALLGEMEINES
Art. 1.1 Einleitung 3 Art. 1.2 Geltungsbereich 3
II. ARBEITSPLATZ
Art. 2.1 Bildschirm 3 Art. 2.2 Druckoptionen 4 Art. 2.3 Rechner 4 Art. 2.4 Drucker / Kopierer 4/5
IlI. TRANSPORT
Art. 3.1 Betriebsfahrzeuge 5 Art. 3.2 Reisen 5 Art. 3.3 Fahrten zur Galexis 6
IV. GEBÄUDE / INFRASTRUKTUR
Art. 4.1 Kaffeeautomat / Wasserspender 6 Art. 4.2 Abfalltrennung 6 Art. 4.3 Beleuchtung 6 Art. 4.4 Heizung 7
V. INKRAFTTRETEN
Anhang
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 104
Öko-Verhaltenskodex Niederbipp, 01. Juli 2010 3
Titel
Datum
Seite
I. ALLGEMEINES
Art. 1.1 EINLEITUNG
_Das vorliegende Reglement konkretisiert den Verhaltenskodex der Galenica-Gruppe (Kapital Schutz der Umwelt, Sicherheit und Gesundheit) in Bezug auf das Sparen von Energie im Sinne von Minimalanforderungen.
Art. 1.2 GELTUNGSBEREICH
_Der Öko-Verhaltenskodex gilt grundsätzlich für alle Mitarbeitenden der Galexis.
II. ARBEITSPLATZ
Art. 2.1 BILDSCHIRM
Art. 2.1.1 Bildschirm während der Mittagspause ausschalten
_Während der Mittagspause, Besprechungen und am Feierabend ist der Monitor unbenutzt und kann am AUS-Schalter ausgeschaltet werden. Energieverschwendung durch unnützes Laufen des Monitors kann somit vermieden werden.
Art. 2.1.2 Frist in den Systemeinstellungen für die Bildschirmabschaltung, wenn PC unbenutzt
_Mit den Energieoptionen in den Systemeinstellungen am PC kann der Bildschirm nach einer definierten Frist auf Standby geschaltet werden und dadurch Energie sparen. Bitte prüfen Sie, ob Sie diese Frist verkürzen können (Anleitung 1).
Art. 2.1.3 Helligkeitseinstellung am Monitor verringern, damit Energie gespart werden kann
_Schon durch geringe Änderungen der Helligkeitseinstellungen am Bildschirm kann der Energieverbrauch nennenswert gesenkt werden. Bitte prüfen Sie, ob die Verringerung der Helligkeit Ihres Monitors möglich ist.
Art 2.1.4 Bildschirmschoner ausschalten
_Verzichten Sie auf Bildschirmschoner (Bildschirmschoner auf „Eigenschaften von Anzeige“ deaktivieren). Bildschirmschoner verbrauchen mehr Energie als der Monitor im normalen Arbeitsgebrauch. Beim deaktivierten Bildschirmschoner ist es besonders wichtig den Monitor abzuschalten, wenn er nicht benutzt wird (gem. Art. 2.1.1).
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 105
Öko-Verhaltenskodex Niederbipp, 01. Juli 2010 4
Titel
Datum
Seite
Art. 2.2 DRUCKOPTIONEN
Art. 2.2.1 Druckereinstellungen auf Doppelseitendruck als Standard festlegen
_Beim Drucken von Dokumenten kann durch Doppelseitendruck der Papierverbrauch halbiert werden. Bei einigen Druckern ist dies bereits so vordefiniert. Bitte prüfen Sie diese Einstellungen bei Ihrem Drucker und passen Sie sie gegebenenfalls an (Anleitung 2).
Art. 2.2.2 Vor dem Druck auf A4 formatieren
_Viele zu druckende Dokumente passen beim Ausdrucken nicht auf eine A4 Seite. Hier kann durch Anpassungen bzw. Verkleinerung des Druckformates auf A4 der Verbrauch von Papier gesenkt werden.
Art. 2.2.3 Präsentationen als Handouts, Doppelseitendruck vor dem Druck einstellen
_Beim Ausdrucken von Handouts bei Präsentationen ist oft der Zweiseitendruck ausreichend, um die Informationen nachlesen zu können. Durch entsprechende Änderungen in den Druckoptionen (Anleitung 2) kann hier der Papierverbrauch halbiert werden.
Art. 2.2.4 Druckereinstellung der Qualität von optimal auf normal
_Durch die Verringerung der Druckqualität von „optimal“ auf „normal“ kann teuere Druckertinte eingespart werden. Bitte ändern Sie bei Ihrem Standarddrucker die Druckereinstellung (Anleitung 2).
Art. 2.3 RECHNER
Art. 2.3.1 Rechner abends herunterfahren, damit Updates gemacht und Strom gespart werden können
_Bitte achten Sie darauf, dass Sie Ihren Rechner vor dem Feierabend herunter fahren. Dadurch wird nicht nur der Energieverbrauch gesenkt, sondern auch die Installation von Software-Updates durch das morgendliche Hochfahren des Rechners ermöglicht.
Art. 2.4 DRUCKER / KOPIERER
Art. 2.4.1 Bedrucktes Papier ein zweites Mal oder als Notizpapier benutzen
_Bedrucktes Papier muss nicht sofort entsorgt werden. Es kann ein zweites Mal benutzt oder als Notizpapier Verwendung finden.
Art. 2.4.2 Drucker über Nacht ausschalten
_Viele der Team-Drucker laufen nachts und am Wochenende auf Standby. Bitte schalten sie diese Drucker abends aus, denn sie haben selbst im Standby-Modus einen sehr hohen Stromverbrauch.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 106
Öko-Verhaltenskodex Niederbipp, 01. Juli 2010 5
Titel
Datum
Seite
Art. 2.4.3 Drucker in Einzelbüros nur bei Bedarf anschalten
_Drucker, die von Einzelpersonen benutzt werden (Einzelbüros), sollten nur bei Bedarf angeschaltet werden, um unnötige Standby-Stromverbräuche zu minimieren.
Art. 2.4.4 Frage: Ist das Ausdrucken nötig?
_Bitte stellen Sie sich vor jedem Ausdrucken die Frage, ob Sie diese Dokumente in der Anzahl wirklich benötigen. Sie sollten den Druckauftrag nur starten, wenn Sie sich sicher sind, die aktuelle Version in der richtigen Menge zu drucken.
Art. 2.4.5 Nach jedem Einsatz des Kopierers muss die Energiesparoption eingeschaltet werden _Die grossen Kopierer in den Kopierräumen haben eine „Energiesparoption“, bei deren Betätigung der Kopierer in einen energiesparenden Standby-Modus gesetzt wird. Bitte wählen Sie die „Energiesparoption“ nach jedem Druck bzw. jeder Kopie (gem. Anleitung in den Druckerräumen).
III. TRANSPORT
Art. 3.1 BETRIEBSFAHRZEUGE
Art. 3.1.1 Neue Modelle als Betriebsfahrzeuge sollen sparsam sein
_Bei der Beschaffung der Betriebsfahrzeuge achten wir auf verbrauchsarme Modelle, sofern betriebswirtschaftlich vertretbar. Fahrzeuge mit geringerem Verbrauch und CO2-Ausstoss leisten nicht nur einen erheblichen Beitrag zum Umweltschutz, sondern verringern auch die Treibstoffkosten der Galexis.
Art. 3.2 REISEN
Art. 3.2.1 Vermeidung unnötiger Reisen - als Ersatz kann oft eine Telefonkonferenz gemacht werden.
_Besprechungen mit externen Personen können oft auch durch Telefonkonferenzen abgehalten werden. Unnötige Reisen und damit auch Belastungen der Umwelt können somit vermieden werden.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 107
Öko-Verhaltenskodex Niederbipp, 01. Juli 2010 6
Titel
Datum
Seite
Art. 3.3 FAHRTEN ZUR GALEXIS
Art. 3.3.1 Mitarbeiter, welche in der Umgebung des Arbeitsortes wohnen, sollten in Zukunft mit dem Velo zur Arbeit erscheinen.
_Mit dem Velo zur Galexis fahren ist nicht nur gesünder als mit dem Auto, Sie vermindern damit auch die Belastungen der Umwelt. Sollte es Ihnen möglich sein mit dem Velo zur Galexis zu kommen, leisten Sie einen nicht unerheblichen Beitrag zum Umweltschutz. Weitere Möglichkeiten wie man gesund und umweltfreundlich zur Arbeit kommt sind: zu Fuss, Trottinett, Inline-Skates etc.
Art. 3.3.2 Bildung von Fahrgemeinschaften als Verminderung des CO2-Austosses
_Heute kommt zumeist jede und jeder mit dem eigenen Auto zur Arbeit. Durch Fahrgemeinschaften können Fahrten in die gleiche Richtung vermieden werden. Fragen Sie Ihre Arbeitskollegen, die denselben Fahrweg haben wie Sie, ob sie zusammen zur Galexis fahren können. Damit wird nicht nur die Umwelt geschont, sondern auch Ihr Geldbeutel.
IV. GEBÄUDE / INFRASTRUKTUR
Art. 4.1 KAFFEEAUTOMAT / WASSERSPENDER
Art. 4.1.1 Benutzen Sie in den Pausen ein Glas oder eine Tasse
_Bitte nutzen Sie an den Getränkeautomaten, in den Pausenecken und in der Kantine Gläser und Tassen. Somit können unnötige Papp- und Plastikbecher-Abfälle vermieden werden.
Art. 4.2 ABFALLTRENNUNG
Art. 4.2.1 Papiersammlung am Arbeitsplatz für Recycling
_Erleichtern Sie sich die Papierentsorgung und stellen Sie sich eine Papier-Entsorgungskiste an den Arbeitsplatz. Papier kann so bequem dort entsorgt werden wo es entsteht. So verringern wir den Kehrichtmüll und können mehr Altpapier zum Recycling geben.
Art. 4.3 BELEUCHTUNG
Art. 4.3.1 Licht in nicht dauernd benutzten Räumen ausschalten
_Schalten Sie bitte in allen Räumen, in denen nicht eine ständige Beleuchtung nötig ist (Kopier- oder Entsorgungsräume etc.), das Licht aus. So können wir energieverschwendendes Dauerlicht vermeiden.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 108
Öko-Verhaltenskodex Niederbipp, 01. Juli 2010 7
Titel
Datum
Seite
Art. 4.4 HEIZUNG
Art. 4.4.1 Stellen Sie die Temperatur der Heizkörper an Ihrem Arbeitsplatz sinnvoll ein
_Die Beheizung der Administrations-Räume kann mittels Heizkörpereinstellung individuell reduziert werden. Bitte minimieren Sie die Temperatur auf das für Sie notwendige Mass. Achtung: Am Wochenende und in der Nacht wird die Temperatur bereits automatisch durch die Haustechnik reduziert.
V. INKRAFTTRETEN
_Der vorliegende Öko-Verhaltenskodex tritt am 01.07.2010 in Kraft.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 109
CaseStudyGeberit:
!
Elisabeth Huber / Michael Kühne / wyd August 10
Umwelt und Recycling A02_02
Umweltschutz Produktion –
Luxus oder Innovationsvorsprung?
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 110
!"#$%&'()*'+$,-,%.)/'
'
!"# ! 2/5
1 Kursziele
Alle Mitarbeitenden ...
" verstehen was Umweltschutz bedeutet.
" wissen wer für Umweltschutz verantwortlich ist.
" Wissen was Nachhaltigkeit bedeutet.
" Können „Abfall“ richtig entsorgen.
2 Nachhaltigkeit
" Nachhaltigkeit heisst Bedürfnisse befriedigen, ohne zu riskieren, dass
künftige Generationen ihre eigenen Bedürfnisse nicht befriedigen können.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 111
!"#$%&'()*'+$,-,%.)/'
'
!"# ! 3/5
3 Stoffkreislauf
4 Umweltmanagement
Ziel vom Umweltmanagement ist es:
" die Kosten zu reduzieren
" die Risiken zu senken
" die Umweltbelastung zu reduzieren
5 Umweltbelastung
Umweltbelastung nach Verbrauchsgrössen Geberit Jona 2009
Entsorgung
3%
Wasser
2%
Prozesse
0%
Treibstoffe
7%
Brennstoffe
6%
Strom
82%
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 112
!"#$%&'()*'+$,-,%.)/'
'
!"# ! 4/5
6 Massnahmen
Energie: optimale Nutzung der Maschinen, langlebige Produkte herstellen und verwenden
Wasser: wassersparende Produkte herstellen
Abfall: vermeiden, trennen und wiederverwerten
Gefahrenstoffe: möglichst geringe Mengen und sorgfältiger Umgang
Mitarbeiter: Weiterbildung, Gesundheit und Zufriedenheit fördern
Gesellschaft: soziale Projekte in der Schweiz und im Ausland unterstützen
7 Recycling
Saubere und artenreine Trennung bedeutet:
Weniger Neumaterial
Geringere Materialkosten
Kleinere Entsorgungskosten
Umweltschonendes Verhalten
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 113
!"#$%&'()*'+$,-,%.)/'
'
!"# ! 5/5
Sammelplätze
Allgemeine Sammelplätze in der Fabrikation für Industrieabfall, PE-Folie, Karton, Styropor, div. Metalle, vermischtes Material, Elektro- und Elektronikmaterial. Querbau UG Container Vermischtes Material, Elektro- und Elektronikmaterial, Kupfer, verchromtes Messing, Messing Späne, Messing roh, rostfreier Stahl. Querbau UG bei der Innenrampe vor der Tür Aluminium: Abschnitte und Späne Im Innenhof auf der Rampe Presse für Karton und PE-Folie (geordnet deponieren), Styropor, Meplarohr Sonderabfälle
Sonderabfälle werden separat entsorgt. Für die Entsorgung muss ein Entsorgungsschein mit der Stoffdefinition erstellt werden. Zu diesem Zweck bitte darauf achten, dass der Abfall artenrein gesammelt wird. Vor dem vorbeibringen des Materials bitte mit den entsprechenden Stellen Kontakt aufnehmen. " Sammlung beim Elektriker HT
Leuchtstoffröhren
" Sammlung beim TU Altöl, Erosionsöl, Öl – Wasser – Schlämme
" Sammlung im Werkzeuglager Restliche Materialien wie Reinigungsmittel, Lösemittel sowie Spül- und Kühlwasser
" Für private Abfälle sind die Entsorgungsmöglichkeiten in der Wohngemeinde
zu benützen!!
Wir alle bei Geberit tragen die Verantwortung für die Umsetzung der
Umweltgrundsätze.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 114
CaseStudyHolcim
CSR/SD Coordination
Holcim Group Support Ltd
Hagenholzstrasse 85
CH-8050 Zürich
Phone +41 58 858 8273
Fax +41 58 858 8234
1/3
Fact Sheet - Environment
Introduction
Our world is precious. Natural resources are finite. The notion that we must tread lightly on the
planet, and minimize our environmental footprint for the benefit of all - now and into the future
- cannot be questioned as an important responsibility for today's business. In fact, it is at the
heart of the concept of sustainable development - 'to meet the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'.
It has been more than 40 years since environmental issues were first thrust into the headlines
by NGOs - soon to be followed by attention from more mainstream institutions. The UN's 1972
conference in Stockholm was instrumental in highlighting the importance of our natural capital.
Twenty years later, at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, a strong link was made between the
environment and development - and business was invited to the table to discuss its role.
Then, in 2002 in Johannesburg, a global summit looked at all three pillars of sustainable
development in an integrated way - and business, in cooperation with others in society, was
seen as part of the solution to environmental degradation, not just part of the problem.
Why this issue is important
When one considers that concrete is second only to water as the most consumed substance
on earth - accounting for a staggering two to three tonnes of product for each person on the
planet - and that cement is the chief ingredient in concrete, it is clear that minimizing the
environmental impacts of cement production must be a high priority for a company committed
to sustainable development.
However, reducing impacts is only one part of the picture. Environmental factors are no longer
seen as risk factors, but also as opportunities - sources of efficiency improvement and
competitive advantage. The term 'eco-efficiency' which describes the process of 'making more
with less' is central to this idea. Businesses which embrace the concept find that they can
reduce their environmental footprint while at the same time improving their financial bottom
line.
Challenges for Holcim
As the main ingredient in concrete, cement is a key requirement of modern society but its
manufacture is a resource and energy-intensive process. Cement production causes
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 115
Fact Sheet - Environment
2/3
emissions of dust, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and other substances to the atmosphere and
is a significant contributor to global man-made CO2 emissions. Cement plants, quarries and
transport operations may also have adverse impacts on local ecology, water quality and local
communities.
Our challenge is to minimize these impacts - by reducing emissions and applying the
principles of eco-efficiency. For example, several wastes and by-products of industrial and
human society can be used as fuel or alternative mineral material to make cement, thus
reducing our reliance on finite natural resources. Many combustible wastes, such as waste oil,
solvents, used tires, plastics, paint sludge, waste wood and paper sludge can be used to
substitute fossil fuels. Slag from the steel industry and fly ash from coal-fired power stations
can be used to partially replace clinker in composite cements. Furthermore, introduction of
new technology to the cement-making process has led to significant reductions in energy
consumption, raw material consumption as well as some emissions to the air.
We have other challenges which must be met, however. In order to use the cited methods to
minimize our impacts, we need to engage our stakeholders. Customers, for example, must be
assured that cement quality is not compromised by alternative methods of production.
Communities around our plants must be assured that their health and well-being remains
unaffected; and authorities in various countries must be engaged to ensure regulations are of
a high standard and take account of the cement industry's ability to provide environmental
benefits to society.
Our commitment
At Holcim, our goal is to continually demonstrate our commitment to sustainable
environmental performance, actively working to improve our performance and to increase our
understanding of the challenges that we - and our industry - face in this area. We aim to
understand our current performance through consistent measurement and reporting
techniques, as well as the implementation of management systems to monitor progress
toward our goals. To work effectively, these systems are integrated into overall business
processes and supported by appropriate training.
We are committed to the implementation of ISO 14001-compatible management systems at all
Group cement plants, grinding stations and AFR-pretreatment platforms. Although a moving
target because of ongoing acquisitions by the Group, 93% of our facilities had achieved the
target by year-end 2007. In addition, we have developed a global emissions monitoring and
reporting (EMR) standard and set emission reduction targets for key substances – NOx, SO2
and dust.
To support our commitment to 'produce more with less', we measure the efficiency of our
process against four key performance indicators - clinker factor, specific heat consumption,
thermal substitution rate, and cement kiln dust (CKD) rate. We must improve our performance
on each of these parameters in order to achieve our objective of a 20% reduction in CO2
emissions by 2010.
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 116
Fact Sheet - Environment
3/3
As part of our engagement with the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), we are actively
involved in the key environmental commitment areas of its Agenda for Action - such as climate
protection, fuels and raw materials, emissions reduction and local impacts.
Related publicly available information
Holcim publishes Corporate Sustainable Development Reports (CSDRs) each second year,
with performance information and data updated annually on our website. Together with
additional fact sheets and other SD-related information, this can be found at:
www.holcim.com/sustainable/
More information on the CSI is available at: www.wbcsdcement.org/
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 117
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 118
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 119
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 120
HRMandEnvironmentalSustainability 121