THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE “SIAM” MODEL FOR SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIAL AREAS article reference number: AP1 Authors: F. Frenquellucci:

ENEA – Faenza Research 48018 - Faenza (Ravenna) [email protected]

Center

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Via

Augusto Peruzzi:

Igeam S.r.l. – Via della Maglianella 65/t – 00166 Roma [email protected]

S. Casaril:

Igeam S.r.l. – Via della Maglianella 65/t – 00166 Roma [email protected]

Ravegnana,

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ABSTRACT The Sustainable Industrial Area Model defined in the course of Life-SIAM project, starting from the elements proper of industrial areas or the Ecologically Equipped Industrial Areas, describes the requirements, criteria and indicators in order to verify the sustainability of an industrial area. Elements that distinguish it from already existing eco-management instruments are: conceptualization of “acceptance” of an industrial area in all its phases by the Local System; presence and management of common infrastructures for local enterprises; systemic vision of the area and the enterprises, in order to face continuously present and future criticalities; agreement about choices with stakeholders in the Local System. KEYWORDS Cluster, Environmental, District, Productive, Ethic, EMAS INTRODUCTION ANALYSIS OF THE SCENARIO: THE AREAS RESERVED FOR INDUSTRIAL AND ARTISAN ACTIVITIES The presence of an industrial area or of an industrial district within a territory generates modifications to environmental elements, to economic flows and to the demand and offering of social services. The three systems (Environment, Social and Economic) are often interdependent and the modifications that they sustain, due to the presence of an Industrial Area, can be negative for one system and positive to another and manifest different effects on the same system with the passing of time. For example, an industrial area can modify: the Environmental System in a negative manner, altering the view, the air quality, the availability of natural resources and more; the Economic System in a positive manner, raising the revenue for the workers in the companies and the revenue of the owners of surrounding housing, due to the greater need placed on the local real estate market; the Social System in a negative manner, since the rapid increase of the resident population due to the migratory flow of the workers and their families, if not supported by an increase in social services (schools, nursery schools, sports establishments, transportation and more) by the municipal Administration, will cause a disadvantage for the whole population. Given the different areas of government and the different effects that an industrial area can cause within the context of a particular territory, the management of an Industrial Area in all its different

phases (Location, Planning, Re-qualifying, Dismissal) is characterized by the involvement of many different parties, both private and public. These parties often share different objectives, with different roles, that create their effects on the same Local Territory System. The improvement of the environmental, economic and social components that characterize the pertinent system cannot therefore be derived from a partnering and sharing logic among the establishments settled in the area, the public entities that operate within the context and the other interested parties that are present. In fact it is necessary to “create an integration of the company economic value system and the socio-political systems – first and foremost the people, environmental responsibility, quality of life – existing in the local territory that it refers to, that may cause problems in legitimizing the industrial system proposed by the private interested company (Merli R.– Responsabilità Sociale d’Impresa: aspetti teorici e strumenti applicativi –De Qualitate n° 7/2006). The objective for the company is to continue from their research to maximize profit to the creation of value that can be passed on to all stakeholders. The objective of the SIAM project is to demonstrate how this transformation is taking place as well as showing how the approach for industrial aggregation (Area of Industrial or District) will accelerate this process and make it more efficient.

Figure n° 1 The Local System

METHODS FROM ECOLOGICALLY EQUIPPED INDUSTRIAL AREAS TO SUSTAINABLE AREAS The introduction of this new concept for productive areas, seeing it in an environmental context, complete with the finalized required technical and organizational requirements in order to minimize and manage any environmental concerns in an integrated way, is born from a necessity to substitute the so-called “end-pipe” approach (end cycle pollution elimination) with a precaution principle to prevent pollution. Specifically, it is not about acting upon the specific environmental qualities for companies, as has been the case until now, but to organize a productive site in order to allow, both economically and technically, the individually established companies to implement their environmental objectives, both mandatory and voluntary.

To summarize, the minimum elements characterized by an industrial area that is environmentally equipped, are the following: 1. The presence of infrastructure, services and common equipment for environmental safety (installations for water purification, waste treatment, environmental monitoring systems, collective transportation, centralized energy production installations, etc.); 2. The existence of a manager for the infrastructure, the services and the common equipment; 3. A standard of environmental quality that is superior in regard to any that would be obtainable individually by the companies (stronger guarantee that environmental regulations will be respected, greater environmental applications with lower costs, etc.). DISCUSSION Although environmentally equipped areas are the most advanced solution to efficiently pursue, within particular delineated territory, for productive development and to safeguard the environment, this solution used alone does not provide conclusive answers for the social and economic issues. In other words, creating and managing environmentally equipped areas, may offer a determining factor to combine industrial developmental needs with environmental protection of a particular territory, while on the other hand it is still insufficient to allow for the practical application addressing community policy in favour of sustainability. The principle by which the aggregation of companies at the territorial level and at the productive level allows to improve efficiency in organization and production, according to vertical and horizontal subsidiary principles, and encompasses national and regional economic policies. Elements that characterize sustainable management of an industrial area are: 1. The introduction of a “territorial approach” concepts for the Industrial Area by the Local System, as an element to constantly consider during the life of an Industrial Area, from the selection of the area to place it in, to the management, up to its re-qualification. This element must enable all the affected companies, to make choices that will select the most “suitable” territory in terms of both positive and negative impacts in the economic, social and environmental concerns on the Local System by the Industrial Area. 2. The presence and management of common infrastructures that will allow for optimization of the environmental, economic and social concerns by the individual companies settled in the industrial area; 3. A systemic vision of management for the Area and of the individual companies established within, that will ensure continuity in handling critical current or potential concerns according to the methodology known as PDCA Plan-Do-Check-Act (plan, carry out, verify, act). 4. The sharing of choices with the interested parties present in the Local System that will deal with current critical issues by the acceptance and synergy of all participating management (public and private); 5. Creating a network that enables participants to discuss and resolve local problems considering long term strategies (D’Amico F., Buleandra M.M., Velardi M., Buleandra M., Tanase I. Strumenti per politiche di sostenibilità territoriale – Energia Ambiente ed Innovazione – Enea n° 1/2006). In other words, it is necessary to define a new logical road, shown in Fig. 2, that beginning with the elements that distinguish Industrial Areas, and, where existing, Environmentally Equipped Industrial Areas (AIEA) will eventually lead to Sustainable Industrial Areas (AIS).

Figure n° 2 Sustainable Development in Industrial Areas

RESULTS REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INDUSTRIAL SUSTAINABLE AREA The AIS requirements are the essential elements that constitute the condition sine qua non to enable an Industrial Area to qualify as “sustainable”. The prerequisites described below are based on the elements that characterize both the ISO 14001:2004, for the PDCA approach, and EMAS Regulations, for the external communication process and for the approach pertaining to “homogenous production areas (cluster)” (Position of the Committee for l’Ecolabel and for l’Ecoaudit on the application of EMAS Regulations developed in “homogenous production areas” – approved by the EMAS Section of the Committee for l’Ecolabel and for l’Ecoaudit on 01/28/2005), both voluntary regulations for environmental management of the company. These regard the managing Party, the sustainability policy, the Analysis of sustainability, the improvement Plan, Infrastructures and their management, Monitoring and evaluating the results, the Statement of Sustainability. Subject Manager The existence of a “Subject Manager” constitutes a recognizable judiciary form, that represents the companies settled in the area and whose function is recognized by the local public system. The Subject Manager must document that the AIS regulations are functioning and guarantee its implementation. It guarantees, through defined processes, the exchange of information between all the entities settled within the AIS and has the role of interfacing with the Local Companies and the interested parties. AIS Policy

The Subject Manager adopts a sustainability Policy (Environmental, Economic and Social) that documents the commitment to the optimization of environmental, economic and social resources and the continuous improvement of the AIS performance and of the individual parties settled in the area. The Policy must document the commitment by the Subject Manager to the maintenance for the regulatory conformity of the services provided by him, and for maintaining the regulatory conformity of the individual parties settled in the area and collectively of their activities. The AIS sustainability Policy must be shared with the interested parties and defined in a manner that will take into consideration and be synergistic with the plan and development policy established by the Local Companies competent on the territory. Sustainability analysis The Subject Manager carries out the sustainability Analysis for the Area to identify the local system and to characterize the socio-economic elements and the environmental matrix. The Analysis must evaluate the positive and negative effects of the AIS activity on the Local System and must be documented, shared by the interested parties, and updated periodically. Identifying the significant aspects of an environmental, economic and social nature for the Industrial Area, is finalized by the elaboration of the improvement Plan and the AIS management. Improvement plan The Subject Manager documents the AIS Improvement Plan with the objective of defining and planning the actions needed to improve the processes (economic, social and environmental) for the industrial area, on the basis of the significant aspects that have emerged and will emerge from the sustainability Analysis. The Plan indicates the objectives to be reached and the actions to be undertaken, which must take into account the territorial plan instruments made available by the competent Local Companies for the territory. The actions in the improvement plan must be accepted and shared by the interested parties. Infrastructure management The AIS must have common installations for the management of environmental, social and economic concerns coherent with the sustainability Policy. The responsibility for the management of the common infrastructure falls to the Subject Manager. The AIS can also have installations pertinent to individual parties settled in the area, but their operation must be coherent with the AIS sustainability Policy. In this case the Subject Manager must guarantee:
A role addressing the methods of management for the single installations;
That each individual installation, although individual, function in synergy, where possible, with the others, or at least without negatively interfering with them The AIS must have service networks that the companies manage in common for aspects that concern environmental, social and economic areas, coherent with the AIS Policy. The management of these service networks can be guaranteed by the Subject Manager without added economic responsibilities, to the parties in regard to free market pricing. Monitoring and evaluation of the results The Subject Manager must oversee and regularly measure the total AIS activity that may have environmental, social and economic impact on the Local System. To this end, the Subject Manager enables and activates a Monitoring Plan, shared by the interested parties, that allows for the significant data to be measured with the objective of defining the use for the Industrial Area in its totality and its impact on the state of the Local System of which it is part of. The Subject Manager must provide access to the data to all interested parties and must coordinate the monitoring activities with the competent local territory companies. Statement of Sustainability

The Subject Manager issues the “Statement of Sustainability” with the objective of making available to the interested parties the information on sustainability aspects and on their improvement. The Statement of Sustainability is the communication and dialogue instrument with the interested parties regarding AIS sustainability. The Subject Manager must periodically update the information contained in the Statement of Sustainability. SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA FOR THE INDUSTRIAL AREA The criteria is the guiding principle by which the Sustainable Industrial Area Improvement Policy and the subsequent improvement Plan define the necessary elements to provide information to the public, in a transparent manner, regarding the economic, social and environmental aspects and procedures for the Area of interest. Transversal Sustainability Criteria Alternative Uses: Evaluation of alternative uses regarding what the industrial area is reserved for, after economic, social and environmental analysis. Acceptance and Sharing: Correct communication to the local population of the cost balance of benefits for the territory and for the citizens themselves, in order to obtain the necessary acceptance for the project Regulatory Conformity Capacity of the Subject Manager and of the AIS companies to guarantee their regulatory conformity Integration Ability for integration of the social, economic and environmental procedures connected with development of the companies in the area Environmental Sustainability Criteria Rational Use of the Local Resources Efficient use of the waste reduction resources: Efficient energy, water and natural resource use; minimization of waste, recycling and re-use, conservation of natural resources; preservation from irreversible deterioration and from excessive use of the natural resources; preference in use of local renewable resources as opposed to external ones. Development of synergistic territory activities (industrial symbiosis, introduction of services and products…). Sustainable Transportation Preference for efficient and reduced environmental impact transportation; optimization of their use from an economic, environmental and social point of view. Biodiversity Maintenance of biodiversity in the surrounding territory. Guarantee of the biological continuity inside the industrial area. Green Technology Maximum use of innovative technology to reduce environmental impact Sustainable Construction Methods of construction and maintenance of the buildings and infrastructure, offering the least environmental impact (for activities and materials used) Green Purchases Obtaining products and services that have and added environmental value both in the production phase for the product, and in use and distribution of the product (Products with the Ecolabel registration, Environmental Product Statement).

Obtaining services from qualified organizations (ISO 14001 certified or EMAS registered, certified SA 8000, certified OHSAS 18001). Green Products Ability of the companies within the industrial area to produce and sell products with environmental disclosure both by utilizing the LCA analysis and by utilizing product certifications (Ecolable, territorial brands) or by voluntary environmental product Declaration (EPD). Economic Sustainability Criteria Attracting Economic Resources Ability to attract resources and new financing: Finance existing activities, increase professionalism, introduce new technology, create new scientific research and innovative technology projects; Recycling of Final Resources Capacity to recycle the financial resources inside the system (territory and citizen enterprise) through the purchasing of local goods and services. Economic Value Increase in the economic value of the productive areas and of the infrastructure; positive returns for the companies Social Sustainability Criteria Equity and Social Cohesiveness Guarantee that the economic benefits will fall upon the whole system (territory and citizens); introduction of elements of equity and cohesion also from an inter-generational point of view Employee Rights Respect for employee rights, safeguarding work conditions, application of the international principles for social ethic. Accident prevention. Communication of an improvement development plan for quality of life in the work place Cultural Identity and Vocation of the Area Not altering and preserving the cultural diversity and maximizing the specific local conditions; reevaluation, from a cultural, historical and landscape point of view, of the territory surrounding the industrial area. Favouring for development and evaluation those companies that take into account the natural cultural and economic predisposition, also by increasing and facilitating local specialization schools. Quality of Life Maintenance/upgrading of the adequate standards for quality of life at the local population levels (health, people services, etc.); Education Implementation of educational programs dealing with citizen’s and economic operator’s behaviours regarding the development of new positions created to support sustainable development; Information and Participation Guarantee of transparent information, periodic and systematic in regard to the interested parties and guaranteed participation of the population in the policy selections. CONCLUSION SIAM MODEL AND ITS BENEFITS The SIAM model was defined, in addition to the national regulations (D.Lgs. n. 112/98), based on the application of voluntary instruments already applied by production companies (Environmental Management System ISO 14001 and EMAS, Ecolabel) and by the local entities (Environmental Management System, Agenda 21L), with the objective of improving environmental management. The evolution that the project has tries to pursue, in respect to the traditional application of such instruments, consists of:





Extending their field of application to the economic and social aspects; Harmonizing the various voluntary instruments within a single synergistic model, with the application coordinated by: The Subject Manager;
Allow the individual companies to individually adhere to voluntary instruments. Most of all this last point has strong ties with the document elaborated by the “Committee for Ecolabel and for Ecoaudit on the application of the EMAS Regulations developed for homogenous production areas”. Specifically, the Committee document, in addition to having reference points regarding the elements that constitute the SIAM Model, reports the simplifications and the synergies that a functional aggregation model for a homogenous productive area determines for the territory. The application of the SIAM Model facilitates the EMAS process for the individual companies existing in the Industrial Area through the provided simplifications/synergies and is fully reported as follows. THE SIAM MODEL AND EMAS 761/2001 REGULATION (integrated by COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 196/2006 of 3 February 2006) EMAS ELEMENTS Environmental aspects (Annex I-A.3.1.) Environmental Policy (Annex I-A.2.) Resources, roles, responsibility and authority (Annex I-A.4.4.1.) Objectives, target and programme (s) (Annex I-A.4.3.3.) Operational Control and Emergency, Preparedness and response (Annex I-A.4.4.6 – 4.4.7.) Documentation and control document (Annex I-A.4.4.4 – 4.4.5.) Monitoring and Measurement (Annex I-A.4.5.1.) Communication (Annex I-A.4.4.3.) Internal Audit (Annex I-A.4.5.5.) Environmental Statement (Annex III) SIAM ELEMENTS The Sustainability Analysis will contain the significant environmental aspects for the Industrial Area and the contributions of the single sectors for the existing activities. • •

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The Sustainability Policy for the industrial area will also take into account significant environmental aspects for the Industrial Area and can be a direct reference through a formal adhesion or an indirect reference for the Environmental Policy of the individual company. The Subject Manager “constitutes a permanent coordinating force, for the coordination and communication between the directing representatives and/or management for the environmental management systems for the various organizations that belong” to the Sustainable Industrial Area facilitating their commitment to improving the environmental procedures for the company within the framework of accepted territorial improvement practice. The Improvement Plan also represents the “elaborated and adopted territorial environmental program” and shared by the Local system it identifies the improvement activities to implement in the Industrial Area based on the input of the existing companies. The individual company, by demonstrating their participation in the improvement Plan and by implementing the plan, contributes to the achievement of the territorial objectives within the expected timeframe, and defines its own Objective and Program document towards “a significant environmental improvement for the entire zone”. Both the management of some common infrastructure and the coordination for the functioning of the end of pipe installations for each individual company by the Subject Manager can guarantee an improvement of the environmental processes for the individual companies. “In these cases, the aspect tied to the operative control and to emergencies could

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be surrogated to said managing companies, as long as it is demonstrated that it is coordinated with the individual companies that benefit from the environmental services” The Subject Manager could, through the Regulation for Management of a Sustainable Industrial Area anticipate its coordination role with some of the typical elements of Environmental Management System for a production company: o Identify and evaluate the Environmental Aspects; o Legislative updating and compliance methods; o Training; o Management of the Documentation and of the Registrations; o Non Conformity of the corrective actions. This simplification could occur in two different ways. The first anticipates the assumption by the Subject Manager of the responsibility to define and maintain the procedures active to benefit the individual companies (for example the Subject Manager completes the legislative updating for the companies in the Industrial Area through a documented procedure). In the second instance, the Subject Manager will make available to the companies some “finalized simplified procedures for the management of the activities of the system” that the companies can adopt towards their organizational needs. Measuring and evaluating the results by the Subject Manager makes available for the individual companies a set of “common indicator standards (of the different categories specified in Recommendations 532 CE from 0/07/03) refereed to in the local context and/or the productive types characterized by the area itself”. The companies will be able to utilize the territorial data that the Subject Manager will have directly measured or the measured data from other competent entities that the Subject Manager will have elaborated and evaluated based on the surveillance needs of the Industrial Area and of the individual companies established in the area. The Subject Manager plans and implements “information and training initiatives realized at the local level”, keeping in mind the training needs for the individual companies and for the entire Local System. “If the individual company demonstrates that these initiatives cover the needs for “all the employees whose work may cause a significant environmental impact” (attachment I, A.4.2), the relative requisite for the EMAS Regulation could then be deemed as automatically satisfied”. The Subject Manager, through a release process to the individual companies of the adhesion Seal to the Sustainable Industrial Area could create “an auditing team, properly qualified (trough training courses in this Area – see preceding point) able to implement audits within the characterizing sectors of the Industrial Area”. The individual companies could have guaranteed meeting or the requirements for competence, experience, professionalism and independence as provided by this. In the Regulation for the functioning of the Sustainable Industrial Area, the Subject Manager defines the audit support methods and instruments to make available for both their own auditor and for auditors of other organizations, in order to guarantee that they are using a correct and complete method of execution.

LIST OF REFERENCE 1. Merli R.– Responsabilità Sociale d’Impresa: aspetti teorici e strumenti applicativi –De Qualitate n° 7/2006. 2. D’Amico F., Buleandra M.M., Velardi M., Buleandra M., Tanase I. Strumenti per politiche di sostenibilità territoriale – Energia Ambiente ed Innovazione – Enea n° 1/2006)