Many people are concerned about the environment in Russia and Ukraine, and are seeking ways to improve the environmental performance of industrial enterprises. Strict environmental laws in both countries indicate good intentions. However, the application and enforcement of such laws are hampered by many obstacles. These include outdated plants and equipment compared to western countries, a shortage of investment capital, and underdeveloped management skills in the areas of environmental policy setting, process improvement, and organizational development.

A new series of international standards, ISO 14000, addresses environmental management systems. It provides a framework for implementing improvements in the environmental policies and performance of industry that could be helpful to managers and regulators alike in Russia and Ukraine.

Unfortunately, substantial misunderstanding exists in both countries about the requirements for meeting these standards. Many enterprise managers do not yet see the relationship to their bottom-line financial results of putting resources in this area. Government officials have not yet determined what role the standards should play in their strategies for improving environmental performance. And finally, some western observers with knowledge of advanced approaches to industrial ecology and worker safety and health systems have concluded that there is still much groundwork that needs to be laid before effective environmental management systems can be developed in Russia or Ukraine.

Futurepast acknowledges the degree to which organizational and personal change--along with capital investment--are needed for Russia and Ukraine to meet global standards of environmental performance. We think ISO 14000 offers a constructive framework for effecting the changes in business culture and management procedure that will help Russian and Ukrainian industry compete in the global market. We believe also that it is important to identify and promote a global standard for management systems at the outset of reform in the industrial ecology sphere. In this way all parties concerned--enterprise managers and workers, the regulatory community, world and local publics, financing institutions, and potential western partners--may develop a common understanding of the ultimate goals for environmental management in Russia and Ukraine, and identify measures for tracking progress toward their implementation.

Futurepast and the Global Environment & Technology Foundation recently conducted a seminar in Moscow on ISO 14000 for 23 Russians. Click here to read our report to the seminar sponsor, the US Agency for International Development.