Environmental management systems in the US and Thailand a case comparison
The one possible national difference was that both Thai firms’ top environmental management system (EMS) priorities were regulatory compliance issues, whereas both US firms were more focused on eco-efficiency priorities. The EMS was developed over a 14-month period, including EMS training and technical assistance from the Thailand Productivity Center, and culminating with International Organisation for Standardisation certification in February 2000. In addition, Siam Furukawa Company Limited’s EMS focused on improving employee awareness of clean and safe lead handling practices. EMS implementation included worker environmental training and testing and lead exposure monitoring. EHV used a multi-functional team to design its EMS, including the environmental and safety director, lab chemist and quality assurance engineer. The team attended EMS workshops provided by Vermont’s environmental regulatory assistance agency. In contrast to EHV, Konica Manufacturing USA did not undertake a formal process of cataloguing all facility activities, aspects and impacts, but focused solely on key aspects.
