Environmental management systems

Introduction

Companies in the plastics industry that have implemented an environmental management system (EMS) are achieving cost savings and improving their environmental performance.

Implementing an EMS will help your business to identify, assess and manage the environmental consequences of your operations. A sound, well-conceived EMS is a practical management tool that can help your company to:

reduce waste and hence operating costs
gain a competitive advantage
establish and show a system for continual environmental improvement
demonstrate compliance with its legal obligations
effectively manage health and safety
improve its public image
What is an EMS?
Why have an EMS?
What are the Key EMS Elements?
How do we Implement an Environmental Management System?
What is an ISO 14001:2004-based EMS?
How does it work?
What if my business implemented an ISO 14001:2004 EMS?
What is the Scope of certification?
What are the Best Format and Style for an Environmental Policy?
What Statements Should the Environemental Policy Contain?
Can I Follow a Checklist of Statements to Help Me Draft the environmental Policy?

What is an Environmental Management System?

An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a continual cycle of planning, implementing, reviewing and improving the processes and actions that an organization undertakes to meet its business and environmental goals. An effective EMS is built on Total Quality Management (TQM) concepts. To improve environmental management, an organization needs to focus not only on what things happen but also on why they happen. Over time, the systematic identification and correction of system deficiencies leads to better environmental (and overall organisational) performance.

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Why have an EMS?

An EMS allows an organisation to systematically manage its environmental and health and safety matters. An EMS can result in both business and environmental benefits.

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Key EMS Elements

For effective implementation of an EMS, the following are critical:

Active commitment from senior management
A clearly defined and understood environmental policy
A clearly defined environmental management structure
Established systems of documentation recording and reporting
Documented and measureable environmental objectives and targets
Systematic identification of environmental aspects and impacts and regulatory requirements
Properly established and periodically reviewed operating procedures

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How to Implement an Environmental Management System

There are recognised national and international standards that provide accreditation and external recognition of the standards achieved. The purpose of these standards is to provide industry with a model framework for the implementation of an effective system for the management of health, safety and environmental issues. The choice of EMS standard depends on what is right for your company. In New Zealand there are two main choices. The most commonly referenced EMS Standard is the international “ISO 14001” and the other option is the Enviro Mark system.

ISO 14000 series
The ISO 14000 family addresses various aspects of environmental management. The very first two standards, ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 14004:2004 (Links to ISO Website) deal with environmental management systems (EMS). ISO 14001:2004 provides the requirements for an EMS and ISO 14004:2004 gives general EMS guidelines.

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What is an ISO 14001:2004-based EMS?

An environmental management system meeting the requirements of ISO 14001:2004 is a management tool enabling an organization of any size or type to control the environmental impact of its activities, products or services, and to improve its environmental performance continually. An environmental management system makes possible a structured approach to setting environmental objectives and targets, to achieving these and to demonstrating that they have been achieved.

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How does it work?

ISO 14001:2004 gives the generic requirements for an environmental management system. The underlying philosophy is that whatever your business, the requirements of an effective EMS are the same. This has the effect of establishing a common "language" or framework for communicating about environmental management issues between organizations and their customers, regulators, the public and other stakeholders. Another point is that because ISO 14001:2004 does not lay down levels of environmental performance, the standard can be implemented by a wide variety of organizations, whatever their current level of environmental maturity. However, a commitment to compliance with applicable environmental legislation and regulations is required, along with a commitment to continuous improvement - for which the environmental management system provides the framework.

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What if my business implemented an ISO 14001:2004 EMS?

ISO 14001:2004 is a tool that can be used for internal purposes: to provide assurance to management that you are in control of your processes and activities having an impact on the environment.
ISO 14001:2004 can also be used for external purposes: to provide assurance to stakeholders - such as customers, the community and regulatory agencies.

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What is the Scope of certification?

ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 certifications are specific. The certificate of conformity to the standard issued by your certification body specifies the scope (the extent) of activity for which the certificate is issued.
Therefore, when announcing your ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 14001:2004 certification in a press release, or in referring to it in media such as marketing or product brochures, or on Web sites, you should specify the scope of your organization’s activities, processes, business units or sites that are covered by the certification.

Certification is not compulsory
You can implement ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 14001:2004 without seeking to have your management system audited and certified as conforming to the standards by an independent, external certification body. Like all ISO standards, ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 are voluntary standards. Deciding to have an independent audit of your system to confirm that it conforms to the standard is a decision to be taken on business grounds.

Choosing a certification body
When choosing a certification body to carry out ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 14001:2004 certification, these are the aspects the organization needs to take into account.

The first point is that an organization can implement ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 14001:2004 without seeking certification
Criteria to consider include:
- evaluate several certification bodies,
- bear in mind that the cheapest might prove to be the most costly if its auditing is below standard, or if its certificate is not recognized by your customers
- establish whether the certification body has auditors with experience in your business sector
- following the publication of the ISO 9000:2000 series, establish whether the certification body has integrated the evolution in the focus of the standards from conformity to performance.
Another point to clarify is whether or not the certification body has been accredited and, if so, by whom. Accreditation, in simple terms, means that a certification body has been officially approved as competent to carry out certification in specified business sectors by a national accreditation body. Consult the ISO Directory of ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 14001:2004 accreditation and certification bodies.

ISO does not carry out ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 14001:2004 certification
ISO is responsible for developing, maintaining and publishing the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families of standards but ISO does not itself audit or assess the management systems of organizations.

ISO's logo is not for use
Upon certification, many organizations turn to ISO to request use of "the ISO 9000 logo". No such ISO logo exists. There is only the ISO logo itself, which is a registered trademark. Unless authorized by ISO, use of its logo is prohibited.

Publicizing your certification
If your business or organization has invested time, energy and money to obtain an ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 14001:2004 certificate, you understandably wish to publicize your achievement. To help you to do so, ISO has published guidelines: Publicizing your ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 14001:2004 certification. (Link to ISO Website – NOT WORKING)

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What is Enviro Mark?

Enviro-Mark®NZ is an internet-based business standard for Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) management. Five levels of certification enable systems to be developed in stages. It was originally developed in England for major multinational corporations as a tool to help their multi-site businesses, to train staff and manage progress. It is now operating in several countries and has been adapted for New Zealand conditions and legislation by Landcare Research www.enviro-mark.co.nz

It is suitable both as an entry-level tool and for those heading for ISO 14001 or higher. There are five levels of certification, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and diamond. Businesses can work through the successive levels at their own pace and stop at whichever level is the most appropriate for their needs. It differs from other environmental management systems (EMSs) in that the first stage requires compliance with health and safety as well as environmental legislation. Enviro-Mark®NZ contains all the components of ISO14001 and once companies have reached the fifth level, Diamond they are deemed to be ISO14001 ready. To achieve bronze, silver, gold, platinum, or diamond certification, each organisation is third party audited by approved Enviro-Mark®NZ auditors.

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Environmental Policy

What are the Best Format and Style for an Environmental Policy?
There is no standard format for writing an Environmental Policy, but the style should reflect your organisation’s culture. A good starting point is to collect and review examples of policies written by other organizations and select the format and style most appropriate to your own organization.

There are a few basic rules to follow to ensure the policy is clearly written and concise:

keep the statement short - if it’s longer than a sheet of A4, then it’s probably too long
the statement is meant for everyone to see, so make sure it’s easy to read and understand
the statement must be realistic, achievable and relevant to your organisation’s activities and practices
demonstrate commitment to making the policy work and get the statement signed, dated and endorsed by the MD, Chief Executive or other senior manager.

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What Statements Should the Environmental Policy Contain?

There is no standard content for an Environmental Policy, although policies normally contain the same themes, including those listed below.
As a general rule, the policy should contain statements on the following criteria:

a commitment to continuous improvement
recognition of compliance with relevant environmental legislation as a minimum level of performance
the education and training of employees in environmental issues and the environmental effects of their activities
the monitoring of progress and review of environmental performance on a regular basis (usually annually).

Additional issues relevant to your organisation, and which you may wish to address in your Environmental Policy, could include:

transport
recovering materials from the waste stream eg recycling packaging materials
minimising waste – reducing it at source
design for the environment
extended producer responsibility/product stewardship
efficient use of water and energy
use of biodegradable chemicals
minimising use of solvents and lead-based paints
use of timber from sustainable (managed) forests
procedures to minimise noise disturbance to neighbours
phasing out of CFCs and ozone-depleting substances.

If your business is linked closely to key customers through the supply chain, obtain a copy of their Environmental Policy, so that your statements can reflect their requirements and needs.

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Can I Follow a Checklist of Statements to Help Me Draft the Policy?

The checklist below may help you to draft a policy appropriate to your business. Choose examples of the statements that would apply to your business and make the statements as specific as possible for your operations:

comply with the requirements of environmental legislation and approved codes of practice
assess the environmental impact of all historic, current and likely future operations
continuously seek to improve environmental performance
reduce pollution, emissions and waste
reduce the use of all raw materials, energy and supplies
raise awareness, encourage participation and train employees in environmental matters
expect similar environmental standards from all suppliers and contractors
assist customers to use products and services in an environmentally-sensitive way
liaise with the local community
participate in discussions about environmental issues.

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