Implement environmental management methods
Environmental management is a coherent set of programs and actions, for reducing as far
as possible, the environmental footprint (impact) of an organization. It is more than charity
and compliance to laws and regulations-it is, a social demand and instead of a business
burden, can be turned into a business advantage, if it is a part of the company strategy and
is effectively planned and implemented.
The project of implementation of Environmental management starts from the Initial Environmental
Impact Assessment. This consists in identifying and assessing all the aspects of the business,
which affect the environment, like: • Noise
• Solid waste • Liquid waste
• Gas emissions • Dangerous and special streams of waste
• Water consumption • Energy consumption (electricity, fossil
fuels, renewables,) and energy efficiency, transportation, production, insulation, HACV,
lighting
When assessing your environmental performance, you should be as more specific and accurate.
Track materials and energy, as they are used in the business and use mass or energy balances:
incoming-out coming-losses-converted=0 Cover every aspect that is relevant, including
purchasers, contractors and maintain a view of the whole product lifecycle, even in the
stages that you are not directly involved. Use numbers as far as possible: kgr or Tons,
deciBells, m3/h, kwh, ppm or mgr/m3
For every aspect that is identified, plan for specific actions that will improve environmental
performance: • Comply with laws and regulations
• Streamline with community and customer expectations
• Eliminate, or reduce waste or substitute waste with environmental friendly materials
• Reuse and Recycle • Dispose Responsibly
• Indirect actions like tree planting, or funding of projects with a wider perspective,
like preservation of wild flora and fauna Establish for every plan/program, one or more
targets, that are relevant (e.g. not quantities but quantities/product) and measurable or
at least that can somehow be assessed: did we make it or not?
Consider environment management as one (out of several) management process of your company.
Rank priorities for the plans/actions:, mandatory (e.g. for laws and regulations compliance),
necessary (e.g. profitable for the business), desirable (e.g. good for social responsibility)
. Asses the cost of implementation, allocate
resources and streamline cost with priority. Maintain a wide and holistic view of your
business processes and employ everyone (staff, departments, business units) in environmental
management. Think out of (your) box: how about planting
some trees in our yard, or funding a relevant program somewhere else?
Implement and Assess your performance Measure your performance and compare with
targets set on the planning stage Measure the cost of implementation
Find out what went right and what wrong, inefficiencies and the cause for both success and failures.
Review and revise You should seek continuous improvement in
your overall performance but not necessarily on every aspect. If specific programs are
not implemented and targets are not met, you should revise your plans, complying and streamlining
with reality. Benchmark your performance, with relevant
companies. Identify new areas for environmental management.
National and European Environmental laws and regulations cover all environmental aspects
of the business, all through the company lifecycle. In order to be certified to a environmental
management system, full compliance to the law is required.
A company should be in advance well aware of them, in order to
1.avoid actions that will be canceled, if they oppose a legal obligation,
2. prepare to comply with forthcoming obligations 3. avoid violation and non compliance and
legal problems For these reasons, information about legal
requirements should on a scheduled, and systematic base. It is a job that should allocated as
all other jobs, especially as requirements are always growing and are getting tougher,
while the cost of no compliance is getting painfully bigger.
Adoption of a certified environmental management system gives the advantage of having a complete,
coherent and proven effective system, that is also easy to implement, due to existing
knowhow. It is also a system that is certified by an independent body and in this way, it
is a proof of objective compliance and care for the environment.
The most common EMS is ISO 14001. It resembles and can be integrated with ISO 9001 into one
system, with common system elements: procedures, documents, inspections, reports. Both systems,
are based on the well-known cycle of Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle and the principle of continuous improvement.
EMAS (Eco Management and Audit Scheme) is a E.U. initiative and is more demanding than
ISO 14001. We can say that it includes ISO 14001 and it also employs the following extra
features : • Stricter requirements on the measurement
and evaluation of environmental performance, measured by independent verifiers. Comparability
and benchmarking of performance indicators. • The system is under public authority supervision.
• The system imposes strong employee involvement and mandatory provision of information to
the general public A company wishing to adopt a certified Environmental
Management System, should better start with ISO 14001 and after some time, should examine
the possibility of adapting EMAS too. There also other certified systems for environmental
management, mostly sector specific and with much less acceptance.
Effective Environmental Management can be an advantage for the business:
• Branding and market differentiation, Employment of eco marks
• Cost saving on materials and operation • Better, in depth, understanding of the
business processes and of the market • Company communication and social responsibility
(eg H & M recycling-reuse program) • Participation in networks, as far as the
company environmental and business policy, is clearly served, promoted and communicated.
Conclusion Environmental management is set of programs
and actions, for reducing as far as possible, the environmental footprint (impact) of an
organization. if it is a part of the company strategy and
is effectively planned and implemented can be a business advantage
there are many certified systems for environmental management, general or sector specific. The
most common are ISO 14001 and the EU Environmental Management and Audit Scheme EMAS