System for integrated business environmental information management

By making use of current business information technology, such as Internet- accessible tools, and industrial environmental management tools, standards, policies and legislation an information system for environmental informati on management has been designed. The system is named Integrated Business En vironmental Information Management (IBEIM), and it includes operational, pr ocedural and organisational support for a business' entire environmental in formation management. IBEIM consists of a system architecture and an inform ation and data content. The system architecture is designed from three thor oughly developed information models, i.e. a reference model for information aggregation and communication, an information model for data structuring, and a modularization including module interface specifications. The content is stored in a common information platform, and includes, for example, a s tructured knowledge system. IBEIM efficiently supports and integrates envir onmental information management for Environmental Management Systems (EMS) tools, LCA and other environmental process modelling tools, and Design for Environment (DfE) tools. With this system, integration communication and re ports are handled in a consistent and compatible way all through an organis ation of any size. IBEIM is also designed for supply chain communication. ( C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.