Abstract
This paper represents the practical implementation of some guidelines developed in the context of a published book entitled
“Product-Oriented Environmental Management System (POEMS). Improving Sustainability and Competitiveness in the Agri-
Food Chain with Innovative Environmental Management Tools”.
Nowadays, companies show growing interest in the most suitable instrument of environmental communication for the
characteristics of their products (and the related sector) could be. This aspect becomes particularly important in the agri-food
compartment where the products features are the result of the interaction among very different subsystems, from the farming to
the transformation and marketing processes. Over time, in this sector, a huge number of voluntary environmental labelling
schemes systems, used as instruments of environmental communication, have sprung up. Consequently it becomes extremely
difficult for the operators to choose the most suitable label for their needs.
In this context these guidelines were established with the aim of representing an innovative tool which, through the evaluation of
key aspects of the environmental impacts of a product, can support the Small and Medium sizes enterprises (SMEs) in their
choice of the most suitable environmental label for their own product; they can also enhance their communication strategies and
their visibility in the market.
The company chosen for carrying out the implementation of these guidelines belongs to the Sicilian pistachio industrial sector
and it is typical for its size and market within the Sicilian economic system. About 90% of the total Italian Pistachio area is
concentrated in a few territories of Eastern Sicily, mainly located in the province of Catania (Bronte and Adrano).