Environmental management tools and experiences in the agri-food sector: a framework of Product-Oriented Environmental Management System (POEMS)

The Eco-Management for Food Project (EMAF Project - PRIN No.2008TXFBYT co-funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research) has the purpose to design and implement a Product-Oriented Environmental Management System (POEMS) framework that is specified for the agri-food industry. The POEMS framework has a modular structure resulting from the integration of complementary environmental management tools: the underlying basis is an Integrated Quality and Environmental Management System, while the product orientation is provided by a Simplified Life Cycle Assessment and a suitable Environmental Product Label or Declaration chosen following guidelines for the environmental product communication. These tools have been specifically structured in order to satisfy the particular needs of organizations operating in the agri-food sector and their strengths and weaknesses are being evaluated through their implementation in different pilot food companies. This paper describes the core methodological structure of these environmental management tools, pointing out their main procedural aspects linked to the specific structural requirements of the agri-food companies and the early implementation experiences in the pilot food companies involved in the EMAF project which belongs to canned vegetables, wine, pasta, olive oil and coffee agri-food supply chains.