Book Review

by Paul Ganderton

Sheldon C. and Yoxon M. 1999. Installing Environmental Management Systems: a step-by-step guide. Earthscan. pp xiii + 250. ISBN 1 85383 575 7. £25.00

At first sight it might seem out of place to put a management text in an education column but there is much of use in this text. Essentially, it is a guide to putting environmental auditing systems in the workplace. By the very nature of the work it is far more complex than this relatively brief guide can cover but all the key elements are here with guidance to other reference sources. The text is divided into sections similar to any business plan. The introduction describes the various systems available (ISO/EMAS) and their merits. The 'setting up' section covers the initial review phase which provides background information and allows the scheme to be put into place. Planning is next with a series of questions - what are we trying to manage, what must we do etc. the aim being to constructively put together a policy that actually works. 'Doing' is the communication, training, documentation section which is getting the whole idea into place. As with any good strategy, 'checking' (de-bugging for plans) and 'acting' (reviewing the next phase) must follow or the project falters. 5 appendices round off the text with work on ISO 14001, auditing, project management, planning and integrated management. The whole feel of the text is highly visual. Each chapter has a series of icons, which are used to guide the reader: checks, summaries, signposts (questions to ask your team), knowledge requirements, contexts and tasks are all clearly labelled.

So where does this leave the environmental educator? With a highly readable text, very training-oriented and lucid enough for any senior school student to use. It would make an ideal text for practical investigations into organisational practice (a good project idea?). The proliferation of ecology into other subject areas means that this text would be ideal for Business Studies and Geography courses for example. It could even be used to set up a school policy!