Environmental Benchmarking in the Electronics Industry: Integration in Business Processes for Design Improvement

摘要

The integration of environmental issues in mainstream business processes in the electronics industry is a process with ups and downs. In addition to known approaches to study this process, which are mainly of a technical and strategic nature, company cultural and peopleoriented aspects have been usedto come to a more complete understanding on how this integration process can or should be studied. A framework for analysis is proposed, introducing explaining factors taken from occupational and organizational psychology. A detailed case study, focusing on improving an established but suboptimal environmental benchmarking process in a major electronics firm, is reported on. It illustrates the benefits of the new research approach, when an increased attention for communication issues directly influences optimal goal-setting and operationalisation of the environmental benchmarking process. Based upon the results for the case study, the generic value of this new approach for studying the integration of environmental issues in mainstream business processes is discussed.