Environmental certification in industries: the Bayer case and its effects on the ecological awareness of employees and families

Abstract

This paper assesses the effects of the ISO 14000 certification in the environmental consciousness of industrial workers and their families. The group under study (at Bayer Industries) was compared to another population group, a nearby community, whose members were not exposed to the training and education programs, as required by that certification. Results from the field survey in both communities have shown that the certification efforts contributed to build a significantly higher level of environmental consciousness in Bayer workers and their families, when compared to the other group, not submitted to the formal process of environmental education.