Environmental Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Environmental Management - Essay Example Evolution of the sustainable management has been problematic for two major reasons; firstly the norms of sustainability are continuously changing, for example, values which were unthinkable few years back are now evolving as standard practices. Secondly, sustainability requires the managers to think for the long term not only short term. The manager can take credit for cultural changes in the program but the organization culture reflects the contemporary concepts of the public. During the 1960s and 1970s, the industrial environmentalism time period was emerging where there were less environmental concerns in the industry but businesses successfully overcame these pressures and made separate regulations and definitions. Environmentalists existed but in businesses, they were discredited. In 1970 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was created which shifted the norms of environmentalism and created a link between the industry and the environmentalists. Despite this, the two sides d id not really meet. Then by the 1980s, environmentalism emerged as a social responsibility and activism became influential. EPA lost its credibility but major non-governmental organizations were found. Businesses started becoming more cooperative and new managerial structures were formed to deal with regulations. During 1988 and 1993, the industry emerged in understanding and changing attitudes towards environmental protection. New attitudes were adopted and the issue was dealt with in a new manner outlining important steps to be taken.