Environmental Performance: Getting the Most
Out of Your EMS
The following article is published
in New England's Environment Journal August/September 2000
For those organizations that are developing an
ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) only to satisfy a customer
requirement, a significant opportunity may be lost. Just as investors seek
to maximize their return, or auto enthusiasts seek to tune their sports
cars, organizations who have an EMS should anticipate improvement in the
performance of their effort to manage environmental issues. Ultimately,
this improvement will continue to drive your system years after you have
met a customer deadline for having a system in place.
Environmental performance can mean
different things to different people. Let us assume that there are metrics
in place that define this performance in terms of items that can be
measured, graphed and clearly illustrated. Some common examples are:
- Reduction in the quantity of resources
used to produce a unit of product.
- Closure of environmental audit findings.
- Decrease in the amount of waste
(hazardous or non-hazardous) produced.
- Improved awareness in your organization
of your EMS.
- Reduction in the amount of issues found
during routine inspections.
- On-time filing for permits and routine
reports.
In order to maximize performance of your
EMS, emphasis should be placed in this area during the design phase of the
system. The key to success in improving an ISO 14001 EMS begins with the
determination of the environmental aspects and impacts of your processes,
goods and services. If the environmental impacts of the aspects are rated
in such a manner as to clearly indicate which are the most significant,
then you will have a well defined place to begin.
The next step calls for determining which
of those listed targets are feasible to improve. The ISO team can then
brainstorm to determine which objectives are viable to pursue, and develop
the necessary timelines and collect the data required to establish a real
target around that objective. The environmental management program should
be designed to reflect how your organization manages projects and tracks
improvement. If your company practices Total Quality Management, then the
same principles should apply to improvements in your EMS.
Another important consideration is
communicating the success of your objectives and targets throughout the
organization. Communication not only fosters awareness of the EMS, but
also gains support and on occasion the insight and ideas of your
organizations personnel.
Over the long run, the success of your EMS
will ultimately hinge upon a combination of factors. Certainly, continued
management commitment to the system is key. In order for management to
continue supporting the EMS, a measurable improvement in performance
should be linked to the overall business goals. The true measure of
success of an EMS is not in receiving registration of your system by a
third party auditor but rather in clearly showing improvement in a variety
of areas over time. Ultimately, good auditors will look for tangible
improvements resulting from the system you have put in place.
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