Study of Environmental and Social Aspects - Report Example

Running Head: STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL ASPECTS Study of Environmental and Social Aspects that influence the Outlook of the Orange Juice Industry with particular reference to Operations of Our Company. -------------------------------------------- Abstract This is a study report of our company in Sao Paulo in Brazil manufacturing and exporting Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice for Manufacturing (FCOJM). The company owns two Orchards where they grow orange trees and the entire crop from the orchards is used for production. The Management of the company required a study to survey the current status of the industry and the future outlook with particular reference to environmental aspect. This report gives the details of the survey findings and recommendations. Study of Environmental and Social Aspects that influence the Outlook of the Orange Juice Industry with particular reference to Operations of Our Company. Executive Summary A survey of the current status of our industry and study of trends that indicate future directions, reveal need for increased awareness of the Environment and its conscious management. Consumers have become more health conscious than before to choose their food with increased awareness of health and safety of what they consume. Crop yields from our orchards reveal diminishing trends, thanks to continued application of chemical fertilizers. This calls for better management of our orchards aimed at conserving the soil characteristics. Towards this, it is suggested to use balanced doses of chemical fertilizers with organic manures. As an extension to our efforts to conserve the soil and to fall in line with trends in the consumption of Organic juices in the world market, it is recommended to include Organic Orange Juice in our product mix. This is possible by introducing organic cultivation practices in our Orchard-1 and using the crop for producing Organic juices. As per the current practices for Organic Product Certification, we will have to wait for three years (interim period for stabilizing on organic cultivation) before we can label our product as Organic Juice. Our manufacturing operations are not entirely energy efficient. Significant energy savings can be effected through appropriate actions, with conscious monitoring, to bring up efficiency and economy. Implementation of ISO 14001: 2004 in our manufacturing unit as well as in our farms will be an appropriate step towards achieving these objectives. Action plans identified also include setting up composting facilities to convert our “waste” products of orange peels and pulp (more appropriately by-products), presently sold for a low price, into valuable organic fertilizers that can be beneficially utilised in our orchards. Study of Environmental and Social Aspects that influence the Outlook of the Orange Juice Industry with particular reference to Operations of Our Company. Introduction This study was conducted by me at the instance of the Director in charge with the help of my colleagues directing operations in the Orchards as well as the manufacturing unit. We have critically gone through our own operations and surveyed the status of the industry in general, through Document Research and visit to similar plants in our state. Findings of investigations in the Orchards. We went through both the orchards. The following are the observations that apply for both the orchards: Resources deployed are adequate to manage the operations. Irrigation facilities are adequate. Crop yields have shown diminishing trends in the last three years. Data on application of chemical fertilizers reveals increasing trend. (Agronomist explained that this was done to reverse the diminishing trend of crop yields). Agronomist suggested application of a mix of chemical fertilizer with organic manure to sustain soil characteristics. Survey of Plant Facilities Our plant is laid out for producing Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice for further Manufacturing (FCOJM) 1. We pack it in non-returnable barrels made of plastic. We are selling 1The Orange Juice Production Process and Product forms (Web Page) our waste materials of orange peels, pulp and seeds to traders. Works manger has indicated possibilities of significant energy savings in several areas in the plant, particularly in the concentration section. He mentioned that the vacuum evaporation system2 is not working efficiently as it not giving the required level of vacuum. He said that there are other areas as well and a detailed energy audit is necessary to assess whether all our systems are working at acceptable levels of energy efficiency. Obviously, it will require an external agency to conduct an audit as the available personnel are fully engaged on routine jobs. Visits to other Juice Manufacturers in Sao Paulo We have deliberately chosen to visit manufacturers who have similar scales of operation, leaving out key players like ‘Coinbra’ and ‘Cutrale’. Five manufacturers who are producing FCOJM were contacted. All of them have implemented Quality Management System as per ISO 9001. Three of the units have implemented HACCP food safety system and the other two units have implemented the latest Food Safety Standard of ISO 22000: 2005. The latter two units have also implemented ISO 14001: 2004 (Environment Management system). These two companies have plans to include Organic FCOJM in their product mix. Details were not revealed to us. Principles contained in Environment Management Systems The need for Global partnership for protection of the environment was felt as early as 1972 in the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held at Stockholm. The 1972 2 Zevallos. Texas A&M University- Orange Fruit Processing (Web page) declaration was reaffirmed in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Environment management systems owe its origin to the above conferences 3. Today ISO 14001: 2004 for management of the environment is popular internationally although there are other systems, a popular one in Europe being Eco-Management Audit Scheme (EMAS) 4. Identification of environmental Aspects that Impact the environment and minimization of such impacts is the thrust area in environment management systems 4. Situations such as accidents to personnel and properties and the organisation’s preparedness to handle these also form part of the environment management system. The system in general includes ecological aspects, maintenance of flora and fauna, soil conservation, control of emissions, prevention of excessive exploitation of nature, inefficient use of resources etc. The principles in containing Impacts include application of possibilities of reducing consumption, reducing emissions, improving efficiencies and economies, re-using materials within the life cycle, recycling, reclaiming, regenerating etc. Benefits of Implementing an Environment Management System Implementation of an environment management system is not seen entirely as a financial cost benefit proposal. This commits the organization to monitor and manage its operations in a more environmentally friendly manner. Some of the highly polluting industries derive benefits through better control of its effluent streams effecting savings in penalties payable to the regulatory authorities. Our industry does not come in this category, as we do not generate chemical effluents 3 ISO 14004: 1996- Annexure A (Informative). International Organization for Standardization 4Environment-EMAS, The Eco-Management Audit Scheme (Web page) and such considerations do not come in our evaluation of benefits. Benefit will accrue to our organisation essentially through long term sustenance of operations through an essential and better management system. The benefit is, continued existence in a viable manner with the system, the opposite being uncertainty of viability without the system. Formulation of proposals Our studies reveal that we have been overexploiting our soils in the orchards. It has been established that productivity cannot be sustained with use of chemical fertilizers only. The only solution for sustenance is use of balanced fertilizer application 5 by applying organic fertilizers together with chemical fertilizers. How much organic we should apply and how we monitor the performance, are matters of detail and have to be worked out separately. But this activity should start without loss of time. Our main market has been the Unites States and we have been producing only FCOJM for historical reasons. There is a growing market for organic juices in the US 6 and elsewhere and we should tap this market, as it will not only give us the opportunity to enter into a prestigious area, but also gives us opportunity to reclaim fertility in our orchards to the extent we resort to organic cultivation. Prudence suggests that we progressively introduce organic juice in our product mix 5 National Institute of Soils and Fertilizers, On the agricultural extension on fertilizer-soil improvement (Web page) 6Palm Beach Post.com/ Business- Organic Orange Juice’s popularity is skyrocketing with consumers, growers (Web page) -­about twenty percent to start with. Our decision to introduce organic juice to the extent of twenty percent, should go along with decision to introduce organic cultivation in our Orchard-1. Orchard-1 constitutes about 25 % of our total cultivated area. Simultaneously, we should start using organic manures together with chemical fertilizers in Orchard-2, for continued sustainability of this orchard. It is not that we can straightaway introduce organic products in the market. There is an incubation period of three years from starting organic cultivation and labeling of product as organic 7. There is no other problem in changing over to organic cultivation in the orchards, as it is recognized that orange trees within its life cycle can be nursed at different times for organic cultivation or vice-versa 7. Since we can label and sell organic FCOJM only after three years from the date of starting organic cultivation7, there will not be any immediate difference in our manufacturing operations. The only thing that we have to do is to ensure that we consciously mix the fruits from the orchards in a consistent manner to achieve uniformity in quality. After we reach readiness to get certified after three years; it will become necessary to segregate the organic and normal varieties for process these in an intermittent manner in the plant. Product changeover from one type to the other in the same plant is permitted 7. It is known that yields from organic farms will be lower, when compared to farms using 7 U.S.International Trade Commission-Certain Orange Juice from Brazil-Publication 3838 [8-9].(Web page) chemical fertilizers. This means that the quantity available for production will be somewhat less, once we resort to organic cultivation. This will entail procuring some quantities of oranges from near-by localities to overcome such shortfalls. Once we decide to use organic manures only, in Orchard-1 and mix of organic and chemical fertilizers in Orchard-2; we will need substantial quantities of organic fertilizers. It is understood that Chicken manure together with Lime 8 is extensively used in organic cultivation. These can be procured from the market. We should also be able to use Composts in the orchards. Organic cultivation also entails use of organic pesticides. At present, we are presently disposing of our orange peels and pulp by sale to traders. It will be of advantage if we convert the waste materials into composts and use these in our orchards. This will call for setting up composting facilities adjoining our manufacturing unit. Details can be worked out separately for establishing costs and benefits. It is also suggested to implement ISO 14001: 2004 in our company covering our entire operations of cultivation and manufacture. Submitted to the Board of Directors for consideration. (Sd) Manager Dated: 8Agriculture and Environment: Orange Juice. Better Management practices. Right mix of Nutrients to Soil. (Web page) Notes 1The Orange Juice Production Process and Product forms (Web Page) 2 Zevallos. Texas A&M University- Orange Fruit Processing (Web page) 3 ISO 14004: 1996- Annexure A (Informative). International Organization for Standardization 4 Environment-EMAS, The Eco-Management Audit Scheme (Web page) 5 National Institute of Soils and Fertilizers, On the agricultural extension on fertilizer-soil improvement (Web page) 6 Palm Beach Post.com/ Business- Organic Orange Juice’s popularity is skyrocketing with consumers, growers (Web page) 7 U.S.International Trade Commission-Certain Orange Juice from Brazil- Publication 3838 [8-9]. (Web page) 8Agriculture and Environment: Orange Juice. Better Management practices. Right mix of Nutrients to Soil. (Web page) References The Orange Juice Production Process and Product forms. Retrieved April 5. 2007 from http://www.ultimatecitrus.com/oj.html Zevallos. Texas A&M University- Orange Fruit Processing. Retrieved April 5. 2007 from http://www.aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/syllabi/422/pdf/Cisneros2 (March 2006).U.S.International Trade Commission-Certain Orange Juice from Brazil (Publication 3838) [7-8] Retrieved April 5. 2007 from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=trE7HkYh7hAC&pg=PT91&lpg=PT92&ots=keYqmM3iW9&dq=Orange+juice+industry,+Brazil&psp=1&sig=KK9ZKsXtRSlGALPq2TVG8hT6Lb8#PPP1,M1 ISO 14004: 1996- Annexure A (Informative). International Organization for Standardization Environment-EMAS, The Eco-Management Audit Scheme. Retrieved April 5. 2007. from http://ec.europa.eu/environment/emas/index_en.htm Environment Management Systems. Retrieved April 5. 2007. from. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=MZ7PRgHsdtYC&dq=Environment+Management+systems&pg=RA1-PR11&ots=T2vVtp-q-Y&sig=td9-aUhso-DsymU4E_dtd3Ig8Y4&prev=http://www.google.co.in/search%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3DEnvironment%2BManagement%2Bsystems%26btnG%3DGoogle%2BSearch%26meta%3D&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=2#PPP1,M1 National Institute of Soils and Fertilizers, On the agricultural extension on fertilizer-soil improvement. Retrieved April 5. 2007. from http://www.fadinap.org/vietnam/soil.html Palm Beach Post.com/ Business. Organic Orange Juice’s popularity is skyrocketing with consumers, growers. Retrieved April 5. 2007. from http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2007/03/19/c1bz_organicoj_0319.html Agriculture and Environment: Orange Juice. Better Management practices. Right mix of Nutrients to Soil. Retrieved April 5. 2007. from http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/policy/agriculture_environment/commodities/orange_juice/environmental_impacts/information_incentives/index.cfm Read More

Findings of investigations in the Orchards. We went through both the orchards. The following are the observations that apply for both the orchards: Resources deployed are adequate to manage the operations. Irrigation facilities are adequate. Crop yields have shown diminishing trends in the last three years. Data on application of chemical fertilizers reveals increasing trend. (Agronomist explained that this was done to reverse the diminishing trend of crop yields). Agronomist suggested application of a mix of chemical fertilizer with organic manure to sustain soil characteristics.

Survey of Plant Facilities Our plant is laid out for producing Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice for further Manufacturing (FCOJM) 1. We pack it in non-returnable barrels made of plastic. We are selling 1The Orange Juice Production Process and Product forms (Web Page) our waste materials of orange peels, pulp and seeds to traders. Works manger has indicated possibilities of significant energy savings in several areas in the plant, particularly in the concentration section. He mentioned that the vacuum evaporation system2 is not working efficiently as it not giving the required level of vacuum.

He said that there are other areas as well and a detailed energy audit is necessary to assess whether all our systems are working at acceptable levels of energy efficiency. Obviously, it will require an external agency to conduct an audit as the available personnel are fully engaged on routine jobs. Visits to other Juice Manufacturers in Sao Paulo We have deliberately chosen to visit manufacturers who have similar scales of operation, leaving out key players like ‘Coinbra’ and ‘Cutrale’.

Five manufacturers who are producing FCOJM were contacted. All of them have implemented Quality Management System as per ISO 9001. Three of the units have implemented HACCP food safety system and the other two units have implemented the latest Food Safety Standard of ISO 22000: 2005. The latter two units have also implemented ISO 14001: 2004 (Environment Management system). These two companies have plans to include Organic FCOJM in their product mix. Details were not revealed to us. Principles contained in Environment Management Systems The need for Global partnership for protection of the environment was felt as early as 1972 in the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held at Stockholm.

The 1972 2 Zevallos. Texas A&M University- Orange Fruit Processing (Web page) declaration was reaffirmed in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Environment management systems owe its origin to the above conferences 3. Today ISO 14001: 2004 for management of the environment is popular internationally although there are other systems, a popular one in Europe being Eco-Management Audit Scheme (EMAS) 4. Identification of environmental Aspects that Impact the environment and minimization of such impacts is the thrust area in environment management systems 4.

Situations such as accidents to personnel and properties and the organisation’s preparedness to handle these also form part of the environment management system. The system in general includes ecological aspects, maintenance of flora and fauna, soil conservation, control of emissions, prevention of excessive exploitation of nature, inefficient use of resources etc. The principles in containing Impacts include application of possibilities of reducing consumption, reducing emissions, improving efficiencies and economies, re-using materials within the life cycle, recycling, reclaiming, regenerating etc.

Benefits of Implementing an Environment Management System Implementation of an environment management system is not seen entirely as a financial cost benefit proposal. This commits the organization to monitor and manage its operations in a more environmentally friendly manner. Some of the highly polluting industries derive benefits through better control of its effluent streams effecting savings in penalties payable to the regulatory authorities.

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