ESDG
Environnemental Self Diagnosis Guide		   Free
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The designers of the Environmental Self-Diagnosis Guide
  Entreprises pour l'Environnement (EPE)
The association Entreprises Pour l'Environment was established by large French enterprises (such as La Compagnie Générale des Eaux et de l'Electricité de France, Renault,Rhône-Poulenc,Total, etc.). It aims at developing efficient approaches for environmental management, mobilising enterprises, expressing their point of view on environmental problems, and encouraging competence and dynamism in the field of environmental protection. Indeed, environmental protection will be a major stake of economic development in the coming years. The need for a better reconciliation between the development of a competitive economy generating employment and wealth for a given country,and the obligation for preserving the natural heritage and the quality of life, requires the acknowledgement by all the actors, and particularly enterprises, of their respective responsibilities.
  Sustainable Business Associates (SBA)
Sustainable Business Associates (SBA) is an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Switzerland. It co-operates with enterprises within the context of sustainable development, to encourage their participation in environmental action, in order to simultaneously improve their economic efficiency and reduce their ecological impacts.Accordingly, SBA has created the DELTA Networks in 11 countries of the Mediterranean basin. The networks promote awareness among industrials on risks and opportunities associated with environmental management. SBA activities are information (conferences, seminars, newsletter, and Web site) and training-oriented (courses, training-action, etc.).
The objectives of the guide
This guide was developed by EPE and SBA to :
  • raise awareness in enterprises on potential risks associated with poor environmental performance (clean-up costs, loss of public image, change in client behaviour, customers boycott)
  • demonstrate that integrating environmental considerations in decision-making yields new opportunities for development, or at least maintains their competitiveness (in particular with respect to satisfying new requirements of certain client groups)
  • encourage a responsible attitude among economic actors to promote sustainable development.

PPresentation of the Environmental Self-Diagnosis Guide
Objectives
A simple approach for continuous improvement consists of the following five phases :

Evaluation Action
plan		 Feasibility
of actions		 Planning Application

The Environmental Self-Diagnosis Guide facilitates regular follow-up during the implementation of the first two phases :
  1. Assessment phase, which is based on analysing the compatibility between :
    • priority environmental aspects associated with activities, products or services of the enterprise (part II, point 6: self-diagnosis)
    • organisational and managerial arrangements that are presently applied in the enterprise (part II, point 7 : self-assessment)
  2. Development of an action plan.

Target audience
Enterprises from the industrial and services sectors are the main target audience of this guide. Although crafts and tertiary industries are not formally excluded, they are not directly concerned by the guide. The guide must be used by the management in order to insure a global vision and an objective approach during its application. Furthermore, the management commitment is essential for a sustainable and long-term improvement.

Principle of compatibility with ISO 14001 and EMAS
The Environmental Self-Diagnosis Guide is compatible with the international standards, namely, ISO 14001 and the European regulation EMAS (Environmental Management and Audit System). It lays the fundamental bases for the implementation of an Environmental Management System (EMS).

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