Understanding environmental-operations integration: The case of pollution prevention projects

To achieve environmentally sound manufacturing processes, environmental management (EM) and operations management (OM) need to be implemented in an integrated manner. The literature characterizing the relationship between EM and OM has broadly investigated the positive effects of environmental practices on plant performance, but has paid little attention to their implementation. However, there is not a unique way to implement EM–OM, and different levels of integration might be attained. We draw on the contingency approach and project management literature to study how and under what conditions EM–OM might be integrated. Based on the analysis of six pollution prevention projects at three large multinational firms, we find that EM–OM integration is contingent upon the degree of project uncertainty and project complexity.