Ans Kolk The Internet as a Green Management Tool By Ans Kolk zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Like environmental management itself the use of the Internet as a “ green tool” has passed through various phas- es. Corporate responses to environmental pressures have varied from reactive and defmsive to accommodative and even proactive. Similar& end-of-pipe solutions have started to give way to process and product-oriented environmental management. This increasing consideration of envinm- mental issues by business has been reflected on the Internet in three dafferent ways. Firstly, firms use websites as a means to communicate their environmental activities to a wider public. Some firms have done this much more extensively than others, sometimes in reaction to pressure exerted by envinmmentalists. Secondly, environmental organizations use the Internet to collect and exchange information, help ing to facilitate the organization of world-wide actions. In this way, firms can also learn about societal concerns and activities. Thirdly, and perhaps most conspicuously for this purpose, the Internet has become a marhetplace for consult- insfinns, government agencies, universities and non-gov- ernmental organizations to showcase manuals, best cases, practical suggestions and the results of recent research. T he overwhelming number of websites at least suggests that there is a world to be discovered, full of potentially valuable information, on the Internet. The belief or hope that the Internet would Ans KoIk is senior researcher at the Institute for Environmental Management, Faculty of Economics, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Her research areas include environmental management, international business and corporate social responsibili- ty. She has made extensive use of the Internet in both research and teaching. Her latest book, The Economics of Envimn,mental Munugernent, will be published in the fall of 1999 by Financial Times Pitman Publishing. offer ample commercial opportunities has strongly contributed to its explosion. At the same time, how- ever, the complex task of finding relevant data, with- out spending too much time and money, has creat- ed disappointment about the possibilities. To assess the added value of using the Internet, both practi- tioners and academics need to consider four key ele- ments: topicality, reliability, availability and relevance. TsP;cal&y. The rapid distribution of informa- tion is one of the great advantages of the Internet. Current events can therefore be covered effective- ly. Websites or discussion lists allow participants to follow actual developments almost as they occur. Conversely, when something ceases to be topical, attention diminishes and it becomes hard to find on the Internet. Websites are often not updated and become obsolete. To remedy this situation, take advantage of the current momentum and cre- ate a network of those who are interested in the issue at hand, ensuring a variety of sources of cur- rent information on a given topic. Save the infor- mation that has been gathered; it can be valuable at a later stage. Finally, always inspect websites to see when they were last updated. The rapid distribution of infor- mation is one of the great advantages of the Internet. Current events can therefore be cooered effectively. Websites or discussion lists allow partici- pants tofollow actual develop- ments almost as they OCCU’I: Conversely, when something ceases to be topical, attention diminishes and it becomes hard to find on the Internet. Vol. 6, No. 3 1999 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA 10667938/99/S - see front matter 0 1999 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved 307