Financial Management in Health Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Management in Health Care - Essay Example These aspects of management aim at ensuring organizations operate within profitable margins in ensuring continuity of the organization. The management ensures that organizations find sustainable sources of funding for various activities. Financial management in healthcare takes various perspectives depending on the source of funding for organizations (Gapenski, 2009). Balance sheets, for example, remain some of the best known indicators of financial performance within an organization. Balance sheets form a fundamental element of assessment of the financial position of an organization during specified period. The information contained in balance sheets remains similar within different entities but the functions performed by the balance sheets differ. Profit organization In profit making healthcare organizations, the financial structures of organizations aim at utilizing financial resources to achieve monetary gains. These entities operate like other businesses whose fundamental object ive remains making profits from financial resources. The financial management of these entities aims at maintaining profitability for the organization. All financial decisions implemented in these financial entities seek to ensure that the organizations remain profitable and competitive within the industry (Nowicki, 2008). The funding for these organizations comes from returns on investments made by the proprietors of the organization. These organizations offer services according to the available finances available for specified services. The functions performed by financial statements differ between healthcare entities depending on the financiers of the establishments. The financial statements for these establishments ought to be presented to the proprietors of the organizations. All expenditures for these organizations should be accounted for in the organization’s balance sheet. Presentation of the balance sheet remains critical in the financial structure of these organizat ions. Within other healthcare entities, like those owned by the government, the information contained in the balance sheets becomes supplemented with relevant data pointing at the organization’s objectives. Achieving the organizational objectives remains the fundamental aim of the organizations. These organizations aim at maximizing their profitability from financial and monetary resources available within the organization. Financial management within these organizations aims at utilizing the available financial resources to achieve maximum returns on investments. The funding for the organizations comes from owners’ equity among other financing options. The entities operate with financial resources that should be refunded to the financiers. The fund could be borrowed from finance institutions and payments should be done from the ensuing profits (Finkler & Ward, 2006). Profitable operation of these institutions remains essential in ensuring completion of the repayments. Other healthcare entities, like the non-profits organizations, never have to repay the operating capital. These organizations operate to offer services to specified individuals according to the demands of the financiers. As opposed to other healthcare entities, profit making entities do not have restrictions, from the financiers, regarding the customers whom to render medical services. The decisions of the management regarding utilization of financial resourc

Personality and Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personality and Leadership - Essay Example The present research has identified that leadership solves the complex problem and issue of how to control and organize the collective effort. It involves putting people in order so that they can perform a common goal or duty. Effective leadership ensures that institutions are able to achieve their goal and visions while keeping in line with their mission. Leadership ensures organization effectiveness and efficiency. Because of good leadership organization such as universities, hospitals, corporations, governments, and armies are able to thrive. The success in organizations as a result of leadership boosts the psychological and financial well-being of people. The main objective of leadership is to ensure that people collectively achieve common goal and aspirations. It is a tool that ensures group and individuals thrive and survive. Leadership involves keeping things in order whenever they go astray. It involves motivating and encouraging people to work towards the common or set objec tives. It entails maintaining and building of teams which are effective. It does this by encouraging people to work towards a common objective and goal. It discourages selfishness and ensures collective benefits and achievements. Leadership encourages corrective responsibility of a team as people are encouraged to work as a team. It ensures people are watching each other’s back. People are able to seek guidance and assistance from others because of the team spirit caused by leadership. When misused, leadership becomes a tool of destruction. Leaders use the authority they have to push for their personal intentions and objectives. Leadership gives few people authority who can use the chance to dictate and ruin other people’s lives. Leadership only involves pursuing the objectives and intentions of the few people who have the leadership roles. It promotes laziness as people act upon instructions and supervision. With leadership, people get used to being pushed. It makes p eople depend on other people’s effort in order to get something done.

FirstGroup plc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

FirstGroup plc - Essay Example As of 2009, the group earned the annualized net profit of around 6 billion pounds, which is a growth of around 31.4% from what the company earned last year. Similarly, this group has remained unaffected by current global economic backdrop, which is an amazing achievement by the company. In the future, the group also wants to maintain its market leader position and wants to expand its operation to the global market. The company wants to develop a new business plan which should not in any way ignore the aspiration of stakeholders. Stakeholders can be any group or an individual that has a stake in the organization's performance. In simple words, any one within or outside the organization who is affected by the decision taken by the business is known as stakeholder. First Group's stakeholders are its shareholders, employees, government, customers and its board of directors. According to Richard Daft, shareholders are those people who own the business and have invested the money in the business. So they would like the business to make decisions which are going to increase its profitability and lead to rapid growth of the business. Similarly, First Group's decisions are also going to affect its employees, in some way or the other. First Group PLC's decision to downsize can result in loss of job for some of these employees. First Group PLC's working policies and pay-rate is another factor that is goi ng to affect the employees. Government might be interest in the decision taken by First Group PLC because if it earns good profit, it will result in revenue for the government in the form of taxes. Similarly, government will want First Group PLC to flourish not only because it will result in revenue collection for the government, but also because it will provide employment opportunities in the economy. Customer will affected by the pricing decisions of First Group PLC. Board of Director will be interested in growth decision of the business because their salaries may be dependent on the size of the business. So they would like the owners to plough back earned profit back into the business for the purpose of expansion and this could lead to conflict of interest between various groups of Stakeholders. (Daft, 1997) Business aim is the future-vision of the business, which can be anything that the business wants to achieve in the future or the reason behind its existence. The major aim of First Group PLC is the transforming the way people travel and changing their perception about the public transport by providing people with safety and luxury and in doing so becoming the leading company of the world. In general terms, Business objective is a business strategic position that it is trying to achieve through its activities and policies. If we look at the business objective of First Group plc, we can say that it is aiming toward higher market share by offering distinct services like safety travel and other features which are not present in conventional transport companies. Another business objective of First Group PLC is rapid growth and in doing so, it is increasing the value of investments of its shareholder by increasing the market-price of the company's stock. Many businesses carry out SWOT analysis to focus on the internal strengths and

Astronomy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Astronomy - Essay Example If earth’s internal activities are related to solar energy, then other planets also should have such internal activities. â€Å"The earth grew from the accumulation of planetismals (meteorites and asteroids), over a period of 1-200 million years about 4.3 to about 4.5 billion years ago. All of the geological activity on the earth today is driven from this initial source of heat at the earths formation, aided and abetted by continued radioactive decay of elements in the earths interior.† (The Heat History of Earth) The construction of earth is not homogeneous and different parts of earth have different types of layers and even the materials are different at different locations on earth. For example the soil structure of India and that of America are entirely different. Earth is blessed with so many radioactive elements like Uranium, Radium, and Plutonium which are decaying continuously liberating huge amount of energy. More over these elements are not distributed uniformly on earth’s surface and even then earth’s internal activities are distributed evenly everywhere. So we can concl ude that the internal activity of earth is not because of radioactive decay of elements alone, but it was due to the initial source of heat at the earth’s formation also. It is an accepted fact that earth’s internal activity has risen in the recent past. It is evident from the increased number of earth quakes, and volcano eruption. Once the earth’s internal activities finished, there will be no more earth quakes, tidal waves and volcano eruption and the earth becomes cooled to alarming levels so that its biological activities will also be ended along with the geological activities. â€Å"There is much evidence that indicates geological vitality of a planet which has played a fundamental role in the development and evolution of life.† (Frias) It is evident from the fact that no other

Seperation of a Mixture Lab Report Essay Example for Free

Seperation of a Mixture Lab Report Essay 1.Mixture is taken, and has to be measured in order to meet the requirements of 2-3g. 2.The mass of the tray is measured and then the scale is zeroed out and the mixture is added to find out the mass of the original mixture. 3.Next, find the mass of the 250mL beaker, zero out the scale, pour the mixture in, and weigh to find the mass. Find the mass of the 100mL beaker as well. 4.In order to separate the iron from the mixture, take a bar magnet inside of a Ziploc bag, and swirl it through the mixture. 5.The iron will stick to the magnet, and lift the magnet out of the mixture. All iron in the mixture should be on the magnet. 6.The iron taken out of the mixture is then measured to find the mass of the retrieved iron. 7.Next, the salt will be separated from the mixture. In order to do this, a ring stand must be set up with an iron ring and a glass funnel. Take a piece of filter paper and fold it as demonstrated by Mrs. Montoney, and place it in the funnel. 8.Place a 250mL beaker under the funnel for the filtered water. 9.Put the remaining mixture in the funnel. 10.Pour some water in a beaker, record the amount of water and pour it in the funnel. The mixture will begin to filter and drain the salt, leaving behind the sand. More water may need to be added depending on if the salt particles are fully desolved or not. 11.The sand has been recovered. Take the filter paper, unfold it, weigh its mass, and place it in the chemical oven to dry before measuring. 12.While the sand is in the chemical oven, take a hot plate, and place the beaker with the filtered salt water on the hot plate. The water will begin to boil, and eventually, the salt will be  clearly visible and separated. 13.Once the salt is fully dried out, and no water remains in the beaker, remove the beaker with tongs for it will be extremely hot. Measure the beaker with the salt in it and subtract the original mass of the 250mL beaker to find the mass of the recovered salt. 14.The sand should be dry by now. Take the sand on the filter paper out of the chemical oven with extreme caution, place it on the scale, measure its mass, and then subtract the original mass of the filter paper in order to find the mass of the recovered sand. 15.The mixture is now separated into the three substances of sand, salt, and iron. Scientific Background: In order to complete this lab report, the following concepts must be understood. First, the difference between a mixture and a pure substance. A mixture is two or more pure substances combined, that keep their separate chemical identities and properties. The amounts of each pure substance in a mixture can change therefore the physical properties of a mixture depend on its composition, and the composition of a pure substance is constant giving pure substances characteristic physical properties that do not change. Physical properties that are used to describe pure substances include solubility, magnetism, and boiling point, which are all characteristics used in this lab. The next concept is physical changes. Physical changes separate the components of a mixture, such as separating the iron, sand, and salt in this lab. Physical changes that can be used to separate mixtures include filtration, evaporation, and distillation. Mass percent composition is a way to express the real composition of a mixture by the amount of each component. In order to do this, the substances must be separated quantitatively. Lastly, percent yield which describes the efficiency of the â€Å"recovery operation† is calculated to separate the mixture. (Handout) Observations: The observations for this lab are as follows: †¢The original mixture is a brownish color, and the difference between the different substances can easily be determined by sight. †¢When the water was poured into the mixture of sand and salt during the filteration process, the filtered water was coming through slowly in large drops. †¢During the  filtration process, the salt seemed to not be dissolving as quickly as thought, and more water was needed. †¢When the salt water was being boiled, all of the sudden the water turned into what looked like foam and the salt started popping. †¢When the sand was taken out of the chemical oven, salt particles that had not been dissolved were found on the bottom of the filter paper. †¢The iron had a high magnetism, while sand and salt had none at all. †¢The salt had a high solubility in water while the sand did not. †¢The physical appearance of the iron resembled rough tiny little black hairs.

Where Is Sony Vulnerable Essay Example for Free

Where Is Sony Vulnerable Essay Sony started as a radio repair shop, founded by Masuru Ikura and Akio Morita after World War II. The company began its long history of producing compact consumer electronics in 1957, when it introduced the world’s first pocket-sized all-transistor radio. The company’s name, Sony, was taken from sonus, the Latin word for â€Å"sound.† Sony went on to invent a series of transistor-based TVs and increasingly smaller audiocassette recorders. In 1979, the Sony Walkman introduced the world to a new, portable way of listening to music. Sony became a world leader in consumer electronics and was the first Japanese company to have its shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In the late 1980s, Sony began expanding into media, purchasing a U.S. record company (CBS Records for $22 billion in 1988) and a major Hollywood studio (Columbia Pictures for $4.9 billion in 1989). The purchases made Sony a major force in the entertainment industry. The importance of marketing at Sony started with Akio Morita, who said that for a company to be successful, it must have three kinds of creativity: creativity to make inventions, creativity in product planning and production, and creativity in marketing. Creativity in marketing at Sony means not just clever ads, but deep insight into its customers. For example, Sony knows its PlayStation customers like to find clues and to decode things. So Sony’s ads for PlayStation 2, like â€Å"Signs,† feature a young man walking the streets of a city where he encounters various signs foreshadowing the events. Mannequins appear in a store window, arms outstretched, and point enigmatically to something that’s about to happen. â€Å"The lead character is almost in the midst of his own role-playing game. He needs to follow clues to save the heroine,† said Andrew House, Sony’s executive vice president of marketing. In the ads, â€Å"we were essentially trying to tap into a range of emotions that we think we deliver in the games—intrigue, foreboding, excitement, panic, relief and achievement at the end.† Sony’s marketing also includes careful measurement of each campaign’s effectiveness. Fo r example, Sony runs 30-second commercials for its PlayStation as part of the previews in more than 1,800 theaters and on 8,000 movie screens. The ads appear before such films as â€Å"The Cat in the Hat.† Sony Computer Entertainment America has been running movie ads for six years. â€Å"Cinema advertising has been very effective for us,† said Ami Blaire, director of product marketing. â€Å"The reason why we have committed to cinema every year is the tremendous unaided recall shown by our own research and Communicus commissioned ad tracking.† Another example of measurement is Sony’s GenY youth marketing efforts. â€Å"The online program promoting the NetMD, ATRAC CD Walkman and Cybershot U30 ran July 1 through September 30 2003, and we found that more than 70 percent of the clickthroughs were spurred by rich media ads via Eyeblaster, versus static banners,† said Serge Del Grosso, Director of Media and Internet Strategy, Sony Electronics. In fact, Sony has even developed a direct-marketing solution which it sells to other companies who want to measure marketing effectiveness. The product, called eBridge[TM], allows marketers to use video, measure the effectiveness of the campaign, and gain insight into the target audience, all in one package. Sony expects that the next big breakthrough will not come from a single new electronic device. Rather, Sony president Kunitake Ando says that the future lies in making a whole range of devices more useful by linking them in a networked home-entertainment system. The company believes that its clout in consumer electronics, combined with its media content, will allow it to steer that convergence in a way that suits it. Whether the future of convergence resides in TVs or PCs or devices, $62-billion Sony makes every one of them—with a strong brand name that gives them an extra push off retail shelves around the world. Discussion Questions 1.What have been the key success factors for Sony? 2.Where is Sony vulnerable? 3.What should it watch out for? 4.What recommendations would you make to senior marketing executives going forward? 5.What should they be sure to do with its marketing? SONY Sony started as a radio repair shop, founded by Masuru Ikura and Akio Morita after World War II. The company began its long history of producing compact consumer electronics in 1957, when it introduced the world’s first pocket-sized all-transistor radio. The company’s name, Sony, was taken from sonus, the Latin word for â€Å"sound.† Sony went on to invent a series of transistor-based TVs and increasingly smaller audiocassette recorders. In 1979, the Sony Walkman introduced the world to a new, portable way of listening to music. Sony became a world leader in consumer electronics and was the first Japanese company to have its shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In the late 1980s, Sony began expanding into media, purchasing a U.S. record company (CBS Records for $22 billion in 1988) and a major Hollywood studio (Columbia Pictures for $4.9 billion in 1989). The purchases made Sony a major force in the entertainment industry. The importance of marketing at Sony started with Akio Morita, who said that for a company to be successful, it must have three kinds of creativity: creativity to make inventions, creativity in product planning and production, and creativity in marketing. Creativity in marketing at Sony means not just clever ads, but deep insight into its customers. For example, Sony knows its PlayStation customers like to find clues and to decode things. So Sony’s ads for PlayStation 2, like â€Å"Signs,† feature a young man walking the streets of a city where he encounters various signs foreshadowing the events. Mannequins appear in a store window, arms outstretched, and point enigmatically to something that’s about to happen. â€Å"The lead character is almost in the midst of his own role-playing game. He needs to follow clues to save the heroine,† said Andrew House, Sony’s executive vice president of marketing. In the ads, â€Å"we were essentially trying to tap into a range of emotions that we think we deliver in the games—intrigue, foreboding, excitement, panic, relief and achievement at the end.† Sony’s marketing also includes careful measurement of each campaign’s effectiveness. Fo r example, Sony runs 30-second commercials for its PlayStation as part of the previews in more than 1,800 theaters and on 8,000 movie screens. The ads appear before such films as â€Å"The Cat in the Hat.† Sony Computer Entertainment America has been running movie ads for six years. â€Å"Cinema advertising has been very effective for us,† said Ami Blaire, director of product marketing. â€Å"The reason why we have committed to cinema every year is the tremendous unaided recall shown by our own research and Communicus commissioned ad tracking.† Another example of measurement is Sony’s GenY youth marketing efforts. â€Å"The online program promoting the NetMD, ATRAC CD Walkman and Cybershot U30 ran July 1 through September 30 2003, and we found that more than 70 percent of the clickthroughs were spurred by rich media ads via Eyeblaster, versus static banners,† said Serge Del Grosso, Director of Media and Internet Strategy, Sony Electronics. In fact, Sony has even developed a direct-marketing solution which it sells to other companies who want to measure marketing effectiveness. The product, called eBridge[TM], allows marketers to use video, measure the effectiveness of the campaign, and gain insight into the target audience, all in one package. Sony expects that the next big breakthrough will not come from a single new electronic device. Rather, Sony president Kunitake Ando says that the future lies in making a whole range of devices more useful by linking them in a networked home-entertainment system. The company believes that its clout in consumer electronics, combined with its media content, will allow it to steer that convergence in a way that suits it. Whether the future of convergence resides in TVs or PCs or devices, $62-billion Sony makes every one of them—with a strong brand name that gives them an extra push off retail shelves around the world. Discussion Questions 1.What have been the key success factors for Sony? 2.Where is Sony vulnerable? 3.What should it watch out for? 4.What recommendations would you make to senior marketing executives going forward? 5.What should they be sure to do with its marketing?

Key Benefits And Limitations Of LCA Environmental Sciences Essay

Key Benefits And Limitations Of LCA Environmental Sciences Essay Major benefits can arise from LCA. Through the ability to analyses exchanges that take place in the environment, it enables decision-makers to select the product or process that result in the least impact to the environment. LCA data identifies the transfer of environmental impacts from one media to another and/or from one life cycle stage to another (EPA 2001). Quantification of emissions, detection of variation between the various life cycle phases, the ability to estimate environmental burden of materials, the ability to compare and contrast competing products and the potential to structure and improve the flow of data between stakeholders are just some of the obvious benefits that can be gained through adoption of LCA. Papers by Deloitte Enhancing the value of life cycle assessment and Lifecycle assessment: where is it on your sustainability agenda? provide an insight into several benefits from utilizing LCA, including (Deloitte, 2009): Innovation: Through revealing the source and magnitude of environmental impacts, product level LCA data can inform the innovation agenda. Cost savings: Clarity in relation to cost drivers can lead to increased efficiency via material and energy requirements minimizing the negative environmental impacts. Furthermore, certain investments in RD and projects related to renewable energy may be eligible for tax credits or other incentives. Internal alignment: LCA provides a common ground for internal goal-setting and communication. Different departments within an organization can unite on enterprise-wide priorities. Regulatory preparedness: LCA can help quantify the projected product cost implications of future carbon legislation and flag those areas that warrant immediate action. LCA can also enhance general transparency to deflect scrutiny from regulators and other stakeholders. Corporate reputation: LCA can demonstrate a companys deeper commitment to improved environmental impact. Improved sustainability claims can strengthen stakeholder relations. Risk reduction: LCA helps companies develop their position around environmental issues to which their operations contribute. Increases awareness of potential liabilities the company should be aware of. On top of these benefits examples of how customized LCA studies can support significant sustainability objectives include (Deloitte, 2012): Enhance brand value for competitive differentiation: Compares the environmental impact of an organizations product to alternatives to determine which benefits are distinguishable. Improve design decisions: Evaluates resource and materials use to inform product and process design decisions that increase environmental efficiencies. Make better procurement decisions: Engages multiple stakeholders and suppliers to allow organizations to make procurement decisions that significantly boost their sustainability efforts. Meet communications needs: Provides a platform for authentically communicating positive environmental attributes about products to buyers and consumers. Achieve compliance: Addresses regulatory mandates at local, national and international levels. Create better policies: Evaluates internal and external policies of the organization to determine realistic objectives. While all of the above benefits help paint a positive picture of LCA, one also has to consider the various disadvantages or limitations of such systems. As with all new and evolving systems there will always be significant teething problems during development. The more noteworthy of these include the fact LCAs utilizing the same and different methodologies can have vastly different results with assumptions, which can be subjective, being a requisite even for simple comparisons to be carried out. The validity of data is always a concern and whether the most up to date data has been used. Performing LCA is resource consuming and gathering data can be problematic. As a result, it is essential to weigh the resources needed against the projected benefits to measure feasibility. There is still no widely accepted standardised format for LCA, with most of the already existing ones such as ISO 14040 having several imperfections. Finally results of LCAs focused on national and regional level m ay not be suitable for local applications. These limitations do take some of the shine away from LCA and indicate that in essence at present LCA is fundamentally flawed given it can be near impossible in many cases to know the validity and relevance of conclusions drawn by the practitioner. While this may be true what has to be consider is that LCA is the best tool we have at present to tackle this significant area of concern. In reality the benefits of LCA far outreach its flaws and as transparency of methods and data becomes the norm its integrity will increase. What is for certain is LCA is set to become a fundamental element of product and service design. Applications and potential of LCA Applications of LCA The application of LCA has been well documented and includes supporting initiatives to assessing environmental impacts that need addressing. Studies (Frankl and Rubik, 1999; Frankl et al., 2000) have highlighted key areas of application including: Bottleneck identification Information and education to consumers and stakeholders Compare existing products with planned alternatives Compare existing company products with products of competitors Procurement specifications, supplier screening, product co-makership Internal information and training Anticipate and negotiate legislation Marketing, advertising policies joining eco-labelling criteria Environmental cost allocation Assess the gap from eco-label criteria Radical changes in product life cycle What can be taken from these findings is that there are three principle areas of application are; (1) comparison on an environmental basis which includes comparison of materials, methods and conformity. (2) In manufacturing LCA can be used to find the most ecological method through optimal material and processes selection. (3) In commercial development LCA can be used for marketing purposes and as a public informational aid (in example EPDs). In reality there are many different views among the scientific populace as to use and best practice for LCA. What is of interest is that one article by Grantadesigns in 2011 called Grantas new Guide: Five Steps to Eco Design proposed that up to 80% of the environmental footprint of a product is determined during the design phase. From this we must assume that the best application for LCA would be in the design phase via evaluation of design alternative. Potential of LCA LCA is a methodology for quantifying and assessing the potential impacts of goods and services from an environmental perspective. From this viewpoint it can be taken that LCA can be applied to any kind of product or decision where environmental impacts are of concern. This in turn implies LCA can be applied by all the different stakeholders who are invested in a product or service including governmental, non-governmental and industries. While this dissertation cannot elaborate on all the opportunities open to LCA, focus will be placed on the following areas which are of particular interest to this study: The potential of LCA at multinational corporation level The potential of LCA for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) The potential of LCA at governmental level The potential of LCA for multinational enterprises Multinational companies face important strategic decisions that help establish the direction of their environmental performance. The decision whether to adopt a global standard or not is one such decision. While specific characteristics of multinationals make the application of LCA easier including; dedicated resources made available, separate departments responsible for implementation and co-ordination, development of internal databases and operating methodologies, and the ability to influence stakeholders, among others; there are equally other factors which present significant challenges including; diverse cultural approaches and consensus on methodologies including weighting across impact categories (Schmidt and Sullivan, 2002; Reap et al., 2008), and how to integrate LCA across the whole organisation as LCA in general tend to be reserved to environmental departments. The value which can be extracted by large corporations who adopt LCA tends to be in terms of material choice, tech nology choice, infrastructure and location choice, and product and process improvement. The potential of LCA for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) While the need for environmental practices have been widely accepted in SMEs, as can be seen through the widespread adoption of ISO 14001, the adoption of LCA has being met with less enthusiasm. This is largely to do with the fact most SMEs need to focus their available resources on establishing their position in the market and cant afford to extend resources to non essential activities. However, many small and medium enterprises are now seen the economic benefits that can be reaped from LCA implementation via simplified low cost approaches. Significant advantages can be gained in the RD stage of products via material swap outs, process improvements or benchmarking (Hunkeler, 2003). One could even go as far as to say that LCA can be useful to improve credit terms as it improves resource allocation and minimises the risk of resources being spent inappropriately. The tangible benefits with regard to environmental business policy include (Hunkeler et al., 2004): reduced operating cost, improved resource efficiency, improved relations with authorities, improve external image, improved credit terms and reduced overheads. It is also worth noting that the addition of LCA will add value for firms in their IPO (initial public offering) as it will be recognised that the company will be more likely to be sustainable with future environmental requirements. The potential of LCA at governmental level The pattern to which goods and services are produced and consumed is established and controlled via government regulated frameworks and conditions. LCA falls within the reams of sustainable development and is of key importance in addressing waste and emissions attributes of products and services. Government activities are ongoing in regards to LCA with supporting strategies becoming widespread. This has led to the development of several nationally managed databases along with new methodologies and tools. Government bodies, including the departments of environment, energy and defence etc., are now active in supporting LCA development via conducting case studies and making data available. Websites have been developed and product orientated environmental policy is evolving, none more so than in the European Union (EU). In its Communication on Integrated Product Policy (COM (2003)302), the European Commission concluded that Life Cycle Assessments provide the best framework for assessing the potential environmental impacts of products currently available. There is an understanding within the EU for the need of life cycle thinking in stakeholder consultations and in policy implementation. There is an acknowledgment that information from LCA can support public policy making in eco-design criteria setting, such as contributing to performance targets within the Environmental Technology Action Plan (ETAP) and for energy-using products within the EuP Directive, in green public procurement (GPP), and in environmental product declarations (EPDs) (European commission, 2003). However, consideration has to be giving to the fact that LCA is only a decision supporting tool, and not a decision making tool. While advances aid its progression it is still limited with regards economic and social impacts, along with local environmental issues. As a result it can only be utilised in support of other tools to aid detection of potential improvement areas. Policies, Laws, Standards and Incentives Life-cycle analysis (LCA) is not a new phenomenon with scientists and manufacturers increasingly using it to expose opportunities to reduce environmental impacts of products and services, from cradle to grave. This has led to the rise of policies, legislation, standards and incentives in the race to control and maximise the potential of this rapidly expanding sector. Policies LCAs offer the opportunity to shift the traditional policy basis away from waste and resource amounts to one where the potential environmental impacts they cause is the focus and in so far as is feasible the related consequences to humans and the ecosystems is catered for. Laws While traditionally focus has been on reducing impacts of production processes, the responsibility is now being extended to manufacturers to reduce the impacts of products as well. This extension of manufacturers responsibility to cover the entire lifecycle of a product is known as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). The EC Sixth Environmental Action Programme Environment 2010 emphasises the importance of product policy which is also reflected in the Integrated Product Policy. Standards The International Organization for Standardization introduced the ISO 9000 series quality management standards in 1987. These were later followed in 1992 by various environmental standards known as the ISO 14000 series. These voluntary standards require verification by an external certification body to obtain the ISO certificate. In the ISO 14000 series there is a family of standards to choose from, so when you want to get environmentally certified you need to consider which best matches your requirements. The point of note in relation to the ISO 14000 series is that it is generic, meaning any business, regardless of size or sector can apply. The following provides a brisk overview from a European perspective of the main policies, laws and standards where the life-cycle approach is emphasised as an important element. Table : Overview of relevant policy, law and standards (Developed with data from European commission and Irish department of environment) Designation Class Foundation Title Subject matter Policy Framing policy 06/2008 Sustainable Consumption and Production Action Plan, (SCP) This communication sets out the measures to deliver more sustainable consumption and production, while improving the competitiveness of the European economy. It builds on several EU policies including the renewed Sustainable Development Strategy. The Community Lisbon Programme for 2008-2010 includes the promotion of an industrial policy geared towards more sustainable consumption and production as one of its major orientations (European commission, 2008). Framing policy 12/2005 EUs thematic strategy on the sustainable use of natural resources The objective is to reduce environmental impacts linked to resource use in a growing economy enabling sustainable development (European commission, 2005a). A review carried out by the Bio Intelligence Service in 2010 indicates the integration of key concepts conveyed by the resource strategies have had a positive but partial influence with the clear need for clear objectives and targets, and the establishment of data centre for natural resources being highlighted (Mudgal et al., 2010). Framing policy 12/2005 EUs thematic strategy on prevention and recycling of waste Describes a number of key objectives as part of an evolving EU policy on waste including; Prevent waste, Promote re-use, recycling and recovery; and Establish the European recycling society. The aim of this strategy is to reduce the negative impact on the environment that is caused by waste throughout its life-span, from production to disposal, via recycling. The objective is that every item of waste is seen not only as a source of pollution but also a potential resource to be exploited (European commission, 2005b). Framing policy 06/2003 Communication Integrated Product Policy (IPP) Aims to support the realisation of environmental product innovations in order to achieve a broad reduction of all environmental impacts along a products life cycle (Commission, 2001). Due to the nature of products, IPP cannot consist of a single general policy instrument, a variety of measures must be employed to achieve the IPP objective (In example standards or so-called soft environmental policy instruments such as activities regarding voluntary agreements or environmental labelling.) (Rehfeld et al., 2007). European Commission, Integrated Product Policy Communication (IPP), 2003 states LCA is the best framework for assessing the potential environmental impacts of products, but the debate is ongoing about good practice with the European commission committing to; developing a handbook on best practice, Co-ordinating to make data more accessible and systematically collected, Regularly update directory of LCA databases, and develop a platform to facilitate communication and exchanges . All of the above commitments have or are in the process of being delivered. Specific instrument 2005 revised 2009 Eco-design directive Provides for improving the environmental performance of energy related products (ERPs) through ecodesign and prevents distinct national legislations on environmental performance becoming obstacles to the intra-EU trade. The ecodesign requirements must not lower the functionality of a product, its safety, or have a negative impact on its affordability or consumers health. The Directive is under the responsibility of DG Enterprise and Industry and DG Energy (European commission, 2012b). Specific instrument 2005 Energy-using products (EuP) Directive The main objective of the EuP Directive is to bring about improvements in energy efficiency throughout a products lifecycle, from cradle to grave. Its focuses on the design phase as it is considered that up to 80% of the environmental load of a product is fixed during design. EuP is a Framework Directive which outlines the legal context within which implementing measures will be developed and targeted at particular product groups (Premier Farnell, 2009). Specific instrument 1/2004 Environmental Technology Action Plan (ETAP) The plan covers a range of actions to promote eco-innovation and the take-up of environmental technologies including: promoting research and development, mobilising funds, helping to drive demand and improving market conditions. Information from LCAs can contributing to meeting performance targets within the Environmental Technology Action Plan (ETAP). In Ireland specific consideration will be given to projects that have the potential to address the three specific challenges identified in the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) State of the Environment Report 2004, namely: eutrophication of surface waters, meeting international commitments on air emissions and better management of waste (Department of the Environment, 2012a). Specific instrument 2008 Green public procurement (GPP) Defined in the Communication (COM (2008) 400) Public procurement for a better environment as a process whereby public authorities seek to procure goods, services and works with a reduced environmental impact throughout their life cycle when compared to goods, services and works with the same primary function that would otherwise be procured. The EU committed to aiming to achieve by 2010 a proposed a target of 50% of all the EUs public procurement tendering procedures to be green. Although this target has not been met a recent report monitoring the uptake of GPP found 26% of the last contracts signed in the 2009-2010 period by public authorities in the EU included all core GPP criteria with 55% of these contracts having at least one EU core GPP criterion, showing that some form of green procurement is being done at a large scale (European commission, 2012c). In Ireland the GPP national action plan has been developed to make half the estimated à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬15 billion in public spendi ng to meet green procurement criteria (Department of the Environment, 2012b). Specific instrument 2002 and Under review Environmental product declarations (EPDs) Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are life-cycle based ecolabels that disclose the environmental performance of the product, similar to nutrition information labels. In France a law was passed in 2007 the Grenelle Environment which requires environmental product declarations for all mass produced consumer goods. 2012 has seen experiments begin to establish best practice to implement this law. The European Commission is following suit and has begun a program to develop guidance on environmental product declarations indicating this will be widespread shortly. Specific Instument 1992 Eco-labelling Is in general a voluntary scheme where producers, importers and retailers can choose to apply for the label for their products. Ecolabel criteria focus on the stage / stages with the highest environmental impact during a products life cycle. By the end of 2011, more than 1,300 licences had been awarded, and at present, more than 17,000 products have the EU Ecolabel. A licence gives permission to use the EU Ecolabel logo. (European commission, 2012d). Laws Legal requirement 2003 Restriction on the use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) Adopted in 2003 by the European Union the directive took effect in 2006 becoming law in each member state. It restricts the use of six hazardous materials in the manufacture of electronic and electrical equipment. It correlates with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) 2002/96/EC which is part of a legislative initiative to reduce toxic e-waste. Legal requirement 2002 Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) The WEEE Directive 2002/96/EC is an EU Directive founded on the principle of Producer Responsibility and its general objectives are to prevent waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and to improve the environmental performance of all operators involved in the life cycle of such including producers, distributors and consumers (European commission, 2012e). Legal requirement 2000 End of Life Vehicles Directive 2000/53/ EC of the European Parliament on end of life vehicles was developed to limit or exclude the presence of dangerous substances including lead, cadmium, chromium IV and mercury in vehicles with the purpose of minimising their environmental impact. In 2006, the target for reuse and recovery was a minimum of 85% of the materials rising to 95% in 2015 with most major OEMs such as Ford, Honda etc on the way to meeting these targets. Legal requirement 1994 EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 94/62/EC This directive regulates the heavy metal content of, and recovery of any packaging put on the market. Implemented in Ireland through the Waste Management (Packaging) Regulations S.I. No. 61 of 2003 as amended by the Waste Management (Packaging) (Amendment) Regulations S.I. No. 871 of 2004. While it should be noted the directive is under review at European level, the legislation is now well developed in Ireland with waste recovery schemes like REPAK in place. Legal requirement 2007 Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) REACH came into force in 2007 with the aim to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment from the risks that can be posed by chemicals, the promotion of alternative test methods, the free circulation of substances on the internal market and enhancing competitiveness and innovation (European commission, 2012f). Manufacturers have to register each substance, assess the risks it poses and pass on the safety information to downstream users. Legal requirement 2006 Batteries Directive Directive 2006/66/EC prohibits placing certain batteries and accumulators with mercury or cadmium content above a fixed threshold on the market and promotes a high rate of collection and recycling of waste batteries and accumulators. The aim is the reduction of hazardous substances (mercury, cadmium and lead) dumped in the environment (European commission, 2012g). Standards Voluntary 1997 revised 2000 and 2006 Life cycle assessment: ISO 14040/44 When concerned with the environmental impact of a new or existing product, it may well be beneficial to carryout a complete life cycle assessment. In such a case you would look to the ISO 14040 certificate. It evaluates the products LCA framework and is intended to make reliable and reusable assessments. It endeavours to provide a clear overview of the findings to stakeholders, including those who have limited knowledge of life cycle assessment. The specific requirements and guidelines for LCAs are in ISO 14044. Voluntary 2001 Environmental site assessment: ISO 14015 This International Standard provides guidance on how to conduct an Environmental assessment of sites and organizations (EASO) through a systematic process of identifying environmental aspects and environmental issues and determining, if appropriate, their business consequences. Voluntary ISO 14020 1998 rev 2000 ISO 14024 1999 ISO 14025 2000 rev 2006 Environmental product declaration (EPD), Labelling: ISO 14020/24/25 ISO 14020/24/25 will help you label your product. It includes quantified data which helps ensure environmental data published is of a certain quality. These product labels are built upon the Life Cycle Assessment which means the information generated is relevant, verified and comparable. Voluntary 1999 Environmental Performance Evaluation: ISO 14031 When you dont require a certificate and just want to measure your environmental performance, this document gives guidance on environmental performance evaluation. It provides management with reliable and verifiable information on an ongoing basis through its Plan-Do-Check-Act system (PCDA). Voluntary 2002 Integrating environmental aspects into product design and development: ISO 14062 Guidance standard providing generic instruction on how to incorporate environmental criteria into product design and development. It can act as a reminder or a checklist and is applicable to all industry sectors. Other industry sectors have developed similar standards including:- Standard ECMA 341, Environmental design considerations for electronic products developed by ECMA International. EN/BSI 13420:2000 Packaging Requirements for packaging recovery by material recycling. BS/EN 13193:2000 Packaging and the environment Terminology. Voluntary 2006 Impact on Climate Change: ISO 14064 ISO 14064-1:2006 facilitates quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reductions. It provides stakeholders with an integrated set of tools to achieve their objectives and it enables participation in emissions trading schemes using a globally recognised standard. Voluntary/ Under construction N/A Product Carbon Footprint: ISO 14067 Strives to standardize the maze of product carbon footprint approaches. Voluntary/ Under construction N/A Water Footprint: ISO 14046 Aims to establish harmonized metrics for water footprints. Other Voluntary 2008 GHG Protocol Product Standard This is a product life cycle accounting and reporting standard developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD). This standard is to a large extent in compliance with ISO 14040/44, except it is explicitly focused on greenhouse gas accounting.