Environmental Management Systems (EMS) Adoption in Sarawak (Malaysia): Implementation Motivations

Abstract

Resumo Environmental management has been in the process of evolution since Industrial Revolutions of 18th and 19th centuries. And the more recent is the development of international environmental management standards and guidelines to facilitate global trade. These environmental management standards and guidelines are usually known as Environmental Management Systems (EMS). This research investigates the implementation motivations in relation to EMS adoption in Sarawak, Malaysia organizations. Empirical findings of a survey on the above in Sarawak organizations are presented. About 112 survey questionnaires invitations were forwarded to various organizations in Sarawak and a total of 47 responses were received. The results of this research show that among the Sarawak organizations, the top three implementation motivations or benefits from implementing EMS according to their importance by the Sarawak EMS user’s organizations are 1) Legal compliance as the top benefit of EMS implementation; 2) Improvement in operational environmental protection; and 3) Corporate image advantages.