Solving Environmental Management and Public Relation Issues by Combining Industrial Environmental Information Systems with Automated Environmental Reporting

Abstract

This paper covers the environmental problems from a) the management of environmental issues for companies to b) the semi-automatic gathering of environmental data in form of reports to the public. To achieve this goal a software system is proposed, which uses one data base for both topics. In the first part the challenges of managing legal compliance in a modular system is discussed while the second part focuses on environmental reporting. Finally a proposal is made how to combine these two tasks efficiently in one system using a service oriented architecture and event-listeners. Legal compliance is one of the major management challenges for companies. Due to changing laws towards a more sustainable economy and the fact that environmental law is more and more determined by supranational organisations (especially in the European Union), companies have to show much more flexibility towards fulfilling these requirements. A modular software system for e.g. regular measurements, application for licenses, accidents management etc. can provide flexible reaction to upcoming problems. A modular software approach for aiding companies in handling their environmental issues is one step towards more efficiency and reliability. But as this system already requires the handling of environmental data, it can also be used to inform authorities and the general public about the environmental performance of a company, thus additionally helping to create a positive image of it and allow the company to perform better not only in terms of economy, but ecology as well.