Responsible production

Responsible production involves the production of goods and services in an ethical way which involves the minimisation of waste and pollution. In the past little thought was given to the way in which resources were used in the production process. The emphasis was on creating the maximum profit from resources available.

Today it is recognised that responsible organisations are also good citizens and ones that look after the environment in a responsible way. Responsible production therefore involves taking a range of issues on board including:

1. Making health and safety paramount.

2. Minimising the use or inputs relative to the outputs that are produced from them.

3. Cutting down on or seeking to eliminate waste.

4. Making sure that harmful emissions and pollution do not result from
production activities.

Today, it is common practice to develop systems for the management of production and other systems. For example British, European and International Standards have created an Environmental Management Standard for companies to comply with as well as ISO 9000 which is an international standard for quality management. By setting up systems to comply with these standards organisations are able to be accredited as meeting this standard. Other suppliers are then more inclined to do business with these organisations because they have shown that they can produce in a responsible way.

The British Standards Institution was the first national and international standards setting organisation. Today it creates a range of standards for responsible production relating to all sorts of issues from creating safe and reliable sets of football goal posts to safely produced motor vehicles and building structures.
Being a responsible producer involves making sure that resources are employed in the most efficient and safest ways possible. Responsible producers respect the environment and create as little waste as possible.