Abstract:
Global environmental problems have been manifesting themselves at such an
alarming rate, that the international community decided at the Rio Conference
in 1992 that these global problems must inter aha also be attended to at local
government level. However, local governments in South Africa are faced with
huge service delivery backlogs and limited financial resources, and these
institutions need a motivational force to convince them to pay more attention
to environmental issues in their daily operations. This motivational force is
required despite the fact that existing legislation in South Africa already
contain a host of requirements for environmental management at municipal
level.
This dissertation describes how municipalities can use The Natural Step
framework as a motivational tool to raise their councils' awareness of the
global environmental problems, and how to take steps to implement a system
that will help them become sustainable organizations that function in an
environmentally correct manner. In the process municipalities will enhance
their primary function, namely to demonstrate responsible governance to their
residents and being able to lead their communities by example. The steps
taken by the municipalities with regard to responsible governance and
implementation of environmental management systems will save them
money, thereby enabling them to have more financial resources available to
spend on critical issues like housing and infrastructure.
The environmental management system that is advocated to be used by
municipalities is the IS0 14001 standard, developed by the International
Organisation for Standardisation. Emphasis is placed on how the use of The
Natural Step Framework can enhance the implementation of this system,
thereby creating benefits for the municipality, while at the same time
transforming the organization into a learning organization that is working
towards a vision of becoming sustainable.
