OBJECTIVES

Relationship to the Objectives of the Telematics Applications Programme

However, a great deal of time is wasted seeking the support and services of different enterprises. Within the ECOMANAGEMENT project and accompanying telematic application, we propose to facilitate the work of these counsellors and trainers and to open these services to enterprises far from industrial centres. The project is focused on the development of new services on an existing telematic network leading to the competitiveness of any consortium at a world level. These elements meet the first aim of the Telematics Applications Programme, namely the:

• Promotion of the competitiveness of European industry;
• Stimulation of job creation through the development of new telematics services.

These aims will be met through the dissemination of good practice in environmental management (EN 5.2), and through the distance training of environmental managers and operators in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (ET 1.4, EN 5.4, UR 6.1). The project will also contribute to EU policy in the area of environment and training, which meets the second aim of the Telematics Application Programme.

The Project's Strategic Approach

The telematic services proposed within the ECOMANAGEMENT project allows SMEs to access the training and counselling services currently developed under the "LIFE Programme." These training and counselling services include:

• Step 1; The head of an SME makes an environmental diagnosis with a counsellor and defines the required objectives;
• Step 2; The manager in charge of implementation will be trained and counselled to implement the environmental plan, to collect data, to conduct urgency actions, and to train operators to improve environmental behaviour;
• Step 3; In order to obtain the EU's environmental logo, they will further follow procedures with the help of a counsellor.

The provided services under ECOMANAGEMNT consists of:

• A virtual space for communication (FAQ, Forum, etc. ..);
• A training space;
• A counselling space.

Tele-training and Tele-counselling thus allows the delivery of the same services to companies far from main industrial centres, training centres and counsellor offices, across France, Greece, Germany, Luxembourg and Spain.

THE ECOMANAGEMENT APPLICATION

The EcoGuide

EcoGuide
WHY ecomanagement?	WHAT'S ecomanagement?
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IS AN INCREASING ISSUE FOR SMEs All organisations are or will be concerned with environmental issues. They need to: Comply with more and more complex regulations; Reduce waste and generalise recycling; Meet customers' expectations or demands; Prove "citizenship" and contribute to a sustainable growth. SMEs need to overcome specific difficulties in order to cope with these issues, because they are short in time and in expertise to decide and implement an environmental management system. ecomanagement aims at providing them with the required skills and methodological tools.	ecomanagement is an Internet-based service that delivers tele-training and tele-counselling related to environmental management. It provides: Training modules for a better understanding of environmental impacts and issues; A methodological module to implement a certification, (ISO 14001 or EMAS); Tele-sessions with a trainer and/or consultant; Databases, (information, resources, appointments management); Appropriate and customised access and subscription levels. ecomanagement is mainly designed for managers concerned with or in charge of environmental issues. It can also be used to rise awareness and train other staff members.

The ECOMANAGEMENT Architecture

Figure 1. The ECOMANAGEMENT architecture.

Training and Counseling Modules

(See Figure 2 below).

Figure 2 The Ecomanagement server.

The following functions are available on the Internet, however, their access is limited according to pre-defined roles including: administrator, designer, tele-counsellor, and user:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Database containing answers to most frequently asked questions about waste management, ISO 14001, etc. MEMBERS DATABASE Information about the members of ecomanagement including consultants, experts and clients EXTERNAL SERVICES Links to external services available over the Web APPOINTMENT BOOK Allows the booking of an appointment for a session with a consultant or an expert CONSULTANT CALENDARS a chance to view a consultant's calendar before booking an appointment FAQ FORUM Discussion forum for consultants and experts for the development of questions and answers for the FAQ database NEWSGROUP An open forum area allowing all members of ecomanagement to participate in discussions

TRAINING DATABASE Training materials produced by the ecomanagement Consortium for downloading COMMENTS Feedback forum to give views about the ecomanagement project and services COUNSELLING LOG Log database for recording details of meetings and work completed for clients EMERGENCY CONTACT DATABASE Contact details for an on-call consultant for emergency consultation and support NEWSGROUP ARCHIVE Archive of old discussion topics previously held in ecomanagement Newsgroup.

Tele-counseling

The tele-counselor provides guidance and support by helping in the choice of appropriate modules, and by following up the training path. These modules (see below) are available in English, French, German, Greek and Spanish.

3 BASIC MODULES These deal with the main impacts of industrial activities on the 3 basic components of the environment. WATER AND ITS POLLUTION AIR AND ITS POLLUTION SOIL AND ITS POLLUTION 1 METHODOLOGICAL MODULE This provides a complete guide for both the user and the telecounselor to plan and implement either ISO 14001 or EMAS certification. definitions and norms steps from assessment to certification tools: check-lists, metrics and tables

5 SPECIALISED MODULES According to users' needs and to the activities of their company, these provide more specific knowledge and data, which can be updated to take into account the evolution of the company, local regulations or specific technological processes. AIR AND ENTERPRISE WATER IN FARMING INDUSTRY WASTE MANAGEMENT PLASTIC PROCESSING INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT => description of an environmental management system => expected results and benefits => comparison of ISO 14001 and EMAS (Environmental Management Auditing System)

REGULAR SESSIONS

During the first session, the tele-counselor presents his/her role, the general approach and tools. The user exposes his/her expectations, problems and objectives. According to his/her previous environmental background and experience, they identify training objectives. The tele-counselor recommends a training path, (steps, contents and duration.) During the following sessions, they evaluate progress. The tele-counselor answers questions, brings additional information or knowledge and validates the step. Then they can start the following step.

TOOLS

Forms are designed to help describe and record:

• Training objectives and expected results;
• Activities to be carried out to achieve these objectives;
• Available resources for every objective;
• Evaluation of results and satisfaction;
• Dates and duration of sessions.

Forms are nominal and accessed to with a password. Thus there may be several users in the same firm. The user and the tele-counsellor can share forms and screens, see and hear one another and take the lead, if both are equipped with PRO SHARE or NET MEETING.

The Ecomanagement Partners

BELGIUM UMH (UNIVERSITE DU MONS HAINAUT) FRANCE CESI CNED (Centre National d'Enseignement à Distance) FEDERATION DE LA PLASTURGIE OFFICE INTERNATIONAL DE L'EAU GERMANY TÜV AKADEMIE RHEINLAND GREECE FORMHEL SPAIN INSTITUTO CATALA DE TECNOLOGIA UNITED KINGDOM MARI Group Ltd

cesi Project Manager: Isabelle CARADOT 9 rue d'Arcueil F-94250 GENTILLY Tél.: 0146158545 Fax: 0145854564 e-mail: icaradot@cesifia2.com Server address: http://ecomanagement.fia2.com

EXPERIENCES FROM IMPLEMENTING THE APPLICATION

In terms of obstacles, limited Internet access hindered uptake. Even today, many SMEs are still not fully equipped. Although SMEs showed their interest to the product and its relevance, many were still put off by the complexity of the tools. We also realised that the counseling aspect of the project had more impact, in terms of the needs of SMEs, than the training aspect.

Among the lessons learned, the first was that new technologies are not as widespread as first envisaged. Therefore, a combination of distance and face to face counseling can work, and that the Ecomanagement product can serve as a support to face to face training. As far as the subject is concerned, concern for environmental problems is not a uniform issue among SMEs across Europe. For these reasons, probably more specific training modules will be developed. The three modules originally developed were meant for beginners, though in fact we should re-target more environmentally aware persons/SMEs, and treat several further specific activities/problems. In terms of transferability, the Ecomanagement product offers an architecture and tools which can be adapted to any subject for open learning, the basis being counseling and training.

CONCLUSION