THIS MONTH'S SPOTLIGHT: EMS for Cities
from GDRC's Programme on Urban Environments
Urban environmental management systems (loosely modelled
after the ISO 14001 standards) can be used in conjunction
with appropriate goals, and with management commitment,
to help improve environmental performance and reduce
negative impacts on the urban environment.
Consumers, governments and companies up and down the
supply and production chain are all seeking ways to
reduce their environmental impact and increase their
long-run sustainability. For cities and local governments,
the key goals are to be environmentally efficient, and
serve as a model for resource-saving and replication.
For cities, there are several benefits of developing
an EMS. It provides leverage in emphasizing and
replicating better environmental action. It enables
and provides an integrated approach to environmental
management. The ISO 14001 takes a comprehensive view
of all of the processes of an organization - hence it
is system dependent, and not person-dependent. It
also promotes sound environmental management in the
long run.
GDRC has been working on these and related issues .
Resources on this topic are available at:
http://www.gdrc.org/info-design/instruct/instruct.html
As with all sections of GDRC, contributions, comments
and suggestions are always welcome from users and
subscribers! Please contact GDRC's Coordinator at -
mosaic@gdrc.org
FOCUS ON GDRC: LEARNING LESSONS
Keeping the Forests and the Trees in View
Much of GDRC's programmatic work has been shaped by
adopting the well known saying, "Missing the forests
for the trees" - which highlights the common mistake
of looking too much into the details (the 'trees'),
but ignoring the context and the big picture to which
it is linked (the 'forest').
A key lesson learnt at GDRC is to keep the balance
between the 'trees' and the 'forest'. It is important
to help individuals contextualize their professional
boundaries (and for organizations, their programme
and project boundaries) - i.e. the trees - within
a larger developmental perspective - i.e. the forests.
This apporach is based on the belief that a bridge
has to be built between those who have the information
and the knowledge, and those that need it to solve
the problems they face locally. Adopting this forest
of knowledge to suit different trees is the key
strategy used by GDRC - and hence its operating
slogan - "Keeping the Forests and the Trees in
View"!
MONTHLY STATISTICS FOR GDRC'S WEBSITE
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ABOUT GDRC MOSAIC
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information bites, and summarizes programme activities of
GDRC, including new items added to the website.
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CONTACT ADDRESS:
Global Development Research Centre
1-5-1-1013, Mori Minami Machi, Higashi Nada ku,
Kobe - 658-0011, Japan
Tel and Fax: +(81-78) 452-8414
Email: info-mosaic@gdrc.org
URL: http://www.gdrc.org/
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