Study of Easy Evaluation of Environmental Performance in Small Scale Offices
Yoshinobu Iyama*, Hoan Do Jong* and Kohji Hayase*Abstract
ISO14001 attestation is easy for large scale offices to obtain, but due to the costs involved and the limited number of staff, introduction by small scale offices is very difficult. Some means for environmental performance evaluation for small scale offices is therefore necessary. In this study, a request to conduct a continuing investigation was made to eight offices which received evaluation in 1995, and in 1997 an easy environmental performance evaluation was carried out on five of the offices which agreed. When evaluated in 1995, the five offices which agreed to the 1997 evaluation showed a high level of achievement in their efforts to reduce the burdens on the environment, while the three offices which did not agree to the 1997 evaluation showed a low level of achievement. Offices with a high rate of paper shredding demonstrated a low rate of single-sided paper production. Two offices showed a 50% reduction in the rate of achievement, resulting from the introduction of a paper shredder. In consideration of investigation load and accuracy, investigation items were limited to a number which could by measured at one time by one person in one day to insure accurate measurement without undue burden. The system for easy evaluation of environmental performance which was carried out in this research enabled numerical evaluation of the environmental achievements of each office with a low investigation load, and was shown to be effective for small scale offices which are unable to receive ISO14001 attestation.
Key words: small scale offices, low investigation load (easiness), environmental performance evaluation, continuing investigation, ISO14001