Linking environmental management systems with cost reduction in enterprises: an analysis of managerial responses

The goal of this research is to find if and what types of costs have been reduced as a result of implementing environmental management systems and of what significance it was to the firms involved. The research suggests that one-third of the enterprises polled have managed to reduce costs. In most cases the reductions pertained to the costs of waste management as well as energy and water consumption. A further study revealed that the longer the time of system operation and the bigger the enterprise, the more likely it is to achieve cost reduction. It suggests that an enterprise is likely to achieve a cost reduction considerable enough to affect its economic performance and competitiveness if: 1) the enterprise's operations rely heavily on environmental resources; 2) organisational changes are followed by significant technological changes, as the former only lead to a slight improvement, in both environmental and economic performance.