A risk assessment approach in selecting environmental performance indicators

Purpose-The aim of the paper is to propose a method that may assist organisations in the task of selecting appropriate indicators for their environmental performance evaluation procedures. Design/methodology/approach-The proposed method is based on the principles of risk assessment, a key technique in the protection and management of the environment. When well-constructed, it may cover all aspects of an organisation's activities, thus providing a sound base for the identification of the most significant indicators to be considered for the environmental performance evaluation. Findings-The proposed approach starts from an initial set of numerous indicators. Each indicator is identified in order to monitor and assess the progress towards the achievement of a goal that has been set in relation to a particular environmental aspect of the activities of the considered organisation. For each indicator, a related environmental risk is assessed that may then be used to prioritise the indicators, and identify the most significant ones as far as the environmental aspects of the considered organisation are concerned. Originality/value-Despite the fact that the environmental performance evaluation has been considered to be both significant and useful, the approaches proposed, so far, are very generic and do not provide actual assistance to the organisations that wish to adopt and apply such procedures. The main advantage of the proposed methodology lies exactly at this point. It facilitates the process of environmental performance evaluation providing substantial assistance to one of the most important stages that is to decide which particular indicators will be considered.