Systematic environmental assessment: a decision methodology for strategic environmental issues

Abstract

Systematic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a methodology used to investigate and document the known technical, political and environmental issues associated with design options and their potential impacts on IBM business operations. The purpose of this systematic assessment is to facilitate integration of environmental considerations into strategic business decisions. An SEA follows a prescribed process flowchart and generates an ultimate ranking of possible design alternatives based on their environmental preferability. This paper describes the process and elements of a Systematic Environmental Assessment and explains how IBM has benefited from its implementation.