The implementation of Product-Oriented Environmental Management Systems in agri-food SMEs

The application potentiality of the POEMS model proposed in the previuous chapter has been tested in pilot companies, operating in two different agri-food supply chains (olive oil production and roasted coffee production); the main aim of the pilot experiences was to test the model and to plan possible corrective and/or improvement actions. The implementation potentiality of the defined POEMS model was evaluated following five main procedural analysis phases: 1. supply chain analysis; 2. analysis of the level of integration of the pilot firm’s management systems; 3. preliminary analysis of the environmental impacts of the product/products identified by the companies themselves using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology; 4. identification of the most suitable product environ-mental communication; and 5. identification of main future improvement options. In this chapter the main results of these two pilot experiences are reported, thanks to which some strong and weak points of the model emerged.