The market for Corporate Environmental Management Information Systems (CEMIS) – Theory and Practice

Abstract

Corporate Environmental Management Information Systems (CEMIS) have been on the market for more than two decades. They were created so that companies can easily comply with environmental requirements and reduce their impacts on the natural environment. Nowadays, a large variety of heterogeneous solutions for the specific environmental issues exist on the market. However, it is uncertain whether the scientific discussion and the available CEMIS on the market are able to meet the demand of the companies for these products. As for now it seems that even though there is a great offer, hardly any company use CEMIS on a regular basis. In order to understand the scientific background of CEMIS we give a brief insight into the scientific discussion in German speaking countries of the last years followed by an analysis of the available CEMIS on the market. Additionally, the paper will give an overview about background and outcomes of this approach, taking into account CEMIS listed in databases on a national and international level and giving an overview of what is the demand of the market, as far as possible. Moreover it will be discussed whether the scientific basis aligns with actual approaches from a practical point of view.