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Environmental Management Systems at the Industrial Park Level in China

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Abstract

Environmental management systems (EMSs), such as International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001, can be used as a tool in China by industrial park managers to improve their environmental performance. This article uses the case of the Dalian Economic and Technological Development Zone (DETDZ) to show how to establish a comprehensive environmental management system (CEMS) according to the ISO 14001 standard at the industrial park level by considering local realities. The particularly interesting feature of this case study is the use of a CEMS (in this case, ISO 14001) by the administrative group of the DETDZ to develop a more comprehensive approach to the wide range of environmental issues that they face in running the zone. In essence the goal is to address many of the issues at the level of the zone. The incentives, benefits, and barriers associated with implementing ISO 14001 are described. However, implementation of an EMS should not be thought of as the ultimate objective for an industrial park’s environmental management. The next steps include encouraging further public participation and taking an integrated approach leading to an industrial ecosystem, which can realize better environmental performance at the industrial park level.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is sponsored by the Killam Trusts, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)’s Tier 1 project (S-61562) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 70202006). The authors also would like to acknowledge DETDZ’s support of this study and the valuable comments of two referees.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Eco-planning and Development, School of Management Building, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, Liaoning Province, P.R. 116024, China

    Yong Geng

  2. School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, 1312 Robie Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 3E2, Canada

    Raymond Côté

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  1. Yong Geng
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  2. Raymond Côté
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Correspondence to Yong Geng.

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Geng, Y., Côté, R. Environmental Management Systems at the Industrial Park Level in China . Environmental Management 31, 784–794 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-002-2854-9

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