OPTIONS FOR INFORMAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: THE AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTED M.J. Newbold, K.A. Lewis, J. Tzilivakis, J. Finch, T.M. Ka ¨ho ¨ , J.A. Skinner and,K. Bardon, Division of Environmental Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK Discussions are often found in the environmental press about the possible advantages to an organization of implementing a formal environmental management system such as BS 7750, ISO 14001 and the EC Eco-Management and Audit Scheme. It is also widely recognized that these formal systems, although theoretically applicable to all, are often seen by many organizations as being too unwieldy, too prescriptive, frequently too expensive and often too public. However, there are many alternative options available to organizations who do not wish to commit themselves to a formal accredited system. The various options currently in use for informal environmental management in agriculture are discussed, with particular reference to a computerized system being developed at the University of Hertfordshire. Application examples are taken from the agricultural industry. INTRODUCTION T he need for the agricultural industry to develop a sound environmental manage- ment system has become increasingly apparent over the last few decades, and has been emphasized by the current problems within the UK cattle industry. There have been dramatic changes this century in terms of agricultural practices, numbers of farm workers, farm technology and the use of pesticides and fertilizers. Problems have been emerging of insect resistance to pesticides, eutrophication— partly caused by nitrate and phosphate losses—soil degradation and loss of species diversity. Faced with these dilemmas, it is difficult for farmers to decide which actions to implement, especially as there is a lack of simple diagnostic tools available to evaluate the agronomic and environmental effects of agricultural practices (Girardini and Bockstaller, 1996, pers. comm.). FORMAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS The introduction of BS 7750 (1994) and EMAS (EC Regulation 1836/93) in 1995 marked the beginning of a commitment to formalizing environmental management systems for many industries. The agricultural community has shown no commitment to these systems, possibly because most have not identified market benefits and see it as a time consuming paper exercise. If supplier chain pres- sures require an environmental management sys- CCC 0968-9427/97/010022–06 $17.50 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. Eco-Management and Auditing, Vol. 4, 22–27 (1997) ECO-MANAGEMENT AND AUDITING