There is an increasing recognition that good environmental and sustainable performance raises a company's competitiveness. But, besides improving processes, reducing environmental impacts and saving costs, how can a company measure, manage and communicate environmental performance in a transparent and comparable way?
Introducing articulated environmental performance indicators (EPIs) supports both a company's environmental management and its communication. It provides a basis for internal control for improving environmental performance as well as for credible reporting of achievements to external stakeholders.

A successful EPI system should be characterized by a complete spectrum of the relevant environmental aspects of a company in a comparable, comprehensible, targeted, well-balanced, and up-to-date manner. To prepare the EPI system, the relevant environmental aspects need to be identified – a difficult task, that may draw not only on measurable environmental effects, but also on the political or social context (stakeholder dialogue) as well as on legal or cost considerations.

After relevance, the availability of data and resources is another important criterion when defining an EPI system. And with other issues, a sound ratio of effort and result is essential. Usually there are different ways to measure certain aspects. Considering the most effective way to achieve the results is therefore worth the effort.

Last but not least, quality and focus beat quantity: A set of 10 to 20 convincing core indicators, including both absolute and relative indicators, usually describes environmental performance sufficiently. It is important to avoid ‘not seeing the forest for the trees’!

Once introduced, an effective EPI system should be robust enough to trace and illustrate progress over time and flexible enough to meet the dynamic demands of stakeholders, reporting formats or legislation. Thus, continuous maintenance, critical review and eventual adaptations are crucial for a sustainable EPI system.

Various guidelines promise direction and provide frameworks to support the implementation of EPI systems and the reporting process. Read more on this in EPI Systems, Part II, in perspective 02/07.

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