For Immediate Release
September 21, 1995

PEOPLE ARE KEY TO POLLUTION PREVENTION: ORGANIZATION MANAGEMENT, COMMUNICATION & CULTURE-RELATED ASSISTANCE HELP SOLUTIONS

A study of pollution prevention efforts among mid-sized U.S. companies suggests that "people" issues are as important as technical ones in helping organizations meet environmental obligations. Successful pollution prevention, the study found, requires integrating organizational assistance with technical aid.

"The days of a separate pollution prevention program are coming to an end," said Research Scientist Carol Foley of the Georgia Tech Research Institute. "Pollution prevention had to be separate early on to raise awareness. By focusing on a particular problem, we discovered that technical assistance programs can become surrogates for multi-departmental decision-making within companies."

Foley, a visiting fellow at the Army Environmental Policy Institute, bases her conclusions on a study funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Georgia Pollution Prevention Assistance Division. She and three colleagues surveyed pollution prevention efforts among 1,529 mid-size firms in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. They obtained a 40 percent response rate.

The researchers' findings support the need for integrating pollution prevention programs with organization management, communication and culture-related assistance. Among their observations:

• In mid-sized firms, pollution prevention is not as integrated across the entire facility as it is in larger organizations. One person, perhaps a manager, is responsible for environmental compliance and, in most cases, does not involve people throughout the organization in decision making.

• Mid-size firms rely on external sources for identifying pollution prevention options more than large firms do. They tend to look to published literature, trade associations, vendors and technical assistance programs for ideas and impetus.

• Mid-size firms are less likely than large firms to use quality teams, facility assessments, employee recommendations --all internal sources -- for gathering information on pollution prevention options.

The researchers also developed detailed case studies of four firms that have successfully prevented significant amounts of pollution over the last four to five years. Among the organizational characteristics examined were corporate culture, values and attitudes, internal and external organizational factors, and decision making styles.

One site was committed to Total Quality Management (TQM) concepts, said Research Associate Leigh McElvaney. Such concepts encourage employee input into company decision making at all levels, and rely on internally generated solutions to problems.

"They had moved to touch-screen computers dedicated to communicating with employees because the typical computer keyboards intimidated their employees; they had video monitors everywhere broadcasting information such as safety and health tips; and all employees had access to production data at any time," McElvaney noted.

Another company also successful at pollution prevention was run in a more autocratic style, was not as clean and neat, and did not seem to have formal TQM programs in place.

"However, this company had decentralized decision making processes , as did the TQM-oriented company," McElvaney added. "Some of the floor managers had worked there for a long time and their opinions were respected. The decisions didn't all come from the top down."

A participatory management style that encourages pollution prevention input from all employees is vital, says Senior Research Associate Claudia Huff.

"The way to solve a lot of environmental problems is to begin by talking to the employees on the floor and getting their ideas," she said. "Companies must encourage the employees on the line to feel confident enough to talk to the manager, and of course the manager must respect those ideas and follow through."

Many technical assistance programs are based on collecting input from employees at different levels of the company. This feedback is used to determine whether the solution to a problem lies within the company, or whether a university's engineering assistance is needed, Foley notes. Encouraging a company to develop management and organizational styles welcoming employee pollution prevention suggestions is just as important as actually implementing a pollution prevention program -- and will encourage the company to solve some problems on its own, the researchers say.

Other organizational characteristics of mid-size firms successful at pollution prevention include:

• A significant emotional event -- having had, or knowing colleagues who have had, experiences with environmental clean-up or regulatory problems, such as disasters followed by bad publicity and adverse media relations.

• Focus on product quality -- with lots of direct input from customers on environmental issues, as well as on the product or service they buy.

• Respect for the company's environmental manager -- colleagues perceive this person as knowledgeable and effective.

• An opportunity for change -- such as a decision to replace old equipment, or advice gained from an outside source.

The importance of organizational determinants of pollution prevention activities is increasingly recognized among public policy makers. Management-based approaches to promoting waste minimization are becoming more popular among environmental agencies.

Initially, most pollution management measures promulgated in the United States were regulatory and focused primarily on pollution control technologies, says Dr. Michael Elliott, associate professor of city planning and public policy.

According to Elliott, much of environmental pollution control policy constrained managerial prerogative by requiring specific technology-based solutions. These technologies have been seen by both regulatory agencies and by corporate management as technology add-ons that frequently did little more than remove pollutants from air or water and transfer them to landfills.

Pollution prevention, on the other hand, requires more basic changes in modes of production, materials purchasing, operation and maintenance systems. Such systems are too specialized to be effectively regulated, but instead require fine-tuned decision making within each facility, he noted.

RESEARCH NEWS AND PUBLICATIONS OFFICE
Georgia Institute of Technology
75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 100
Atlanta, Georgia 30308

MEDIA RELATIONS CONTACTS:
John Toon (404-894-6986);
Internet: john.toon@edi.gatech.edu;
FAX: (404-894-4545)

TECHNICAL:
Carol Foley (494-892-3099);
Internet: carol.foley@gtri.gatech.edu;
or Leigh McElvaney (404-894-8444);
Internet: leigh.mcelvaney@gtri.gatech.edu;
or Claudia Huff (404-894-3941)
Internet: claudia.huff@gtri.gatech.edu

WRITER: Lea McLees