Adoption of Environmental Management Practices

This teaching note, published by the World Resources Institute, provides a case study on the adoption of environmental management practices by Epson (China) Co., Ltd. and its parent company, Seiko Epson Corporation. It focuses on the implementation of ISO 14001 certification in office environments and the challenges of designing a cartridge take-back system in China.

• Seiko Epson Corporation, headquartered in Japan, implemented a comprehensive environmental management program with goals including the creation of earth-friendly products, reduction of energy usage, lead-free production, and the recovery and recycling of used products. The company was among the first Japanese firms to remove CFCs from its products and sought ISO 14001 certification for all its facilities.
• Epson (China) Co., Ltd. adopted environmental programs aligned with its parent company's policies, achieving ISO 14001 certification at its office locations. Its specific activities included recycling solid waste, reducing paper and energy usage, and replacing CFC-based fire extinguishers, though it lagged behind the parent company in areas such as green purchasing, environmental labeling, and product take-back.
• The cartridge take-back program designed by Vincent Leung at Epson (China) was characterized by low success goals, such as targeting the return of only one percent of sold cartridges. The program was criticized for duplicating an unsuccessful previous test and a Japanese model without sufficient competitive intelligence or consumer information channels.

APA

Diener, B., & Ming, C. (2003). Adoption of Environmental Management Practices. World Resources Institute. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/tn_1-56973-513-1_teaching_note_english.pdf

Chicago

Diener, Betty, and Cheng Ming. Adoption of Environmental Management Practices. World Resources Institute, 2003. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/tn_1-56973-513-1_teaching_note_english.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Diener |first1=Betty |last2=Ming |first2=Cheng |title=Adoption of Environmental Management Practices |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=2003 |url=https://pdf.wri.org/bell/tn_1-56973-513-1_teaching_note_english.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{diener2003adoption, author = {Diener, Betty and Ming, Cheng}, title = {{Adoption of Environmental Management Practices}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2003}, url = {https://pdf.wri.org/bell/tn_1-56973-513-1_teaching_note_english.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }