An Overview of Environmental Management Systems EMS

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An Overview of Environmental Management Systems
(EMS)
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WHAT IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM? The
ISO 14001 Definition

• The overall management system that includes
  organizational structure, planning activities,
  responsibilities, practices, procedures,
  processes and resources for developing,
  implementing, achieving, reviewing and
  maintaining the environmental policy.

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What is an EMS in laymans terms?

• An EMS is really just a formal planning tool to
  help an organization organize priorities and
  pursue goals.
• Think of it as a fitness plan for an athlete!

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ems vs. EMS

• All organizations have some type of environmental
  management system regardless of what they do
• For this discussion, the focus is a more
  formalized, recognized, and structured approach
  defined in the international EMS standard, ISO
  14001
• In most cases, additional effort is needed to
  transition from existing environmental activities
  to the more formal ISO 14001-type EMS

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An Effective EMS

• Supports a variety of goals
• Ensures the impact owner is responsible
• Is in harmony with mission
• Recognizes continual improvement

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Plan Do Check Act
Continual Improvement
Management Review
Environmental Policy
Planning
Checking Corrective Action
Implementation Control
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Policy

• Statement of an organizations intentions and
  principals in relation to its overall
  environmental performance
• Provides a framework for the EMS objectives and
  targets

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Planning
Determine
Identify
Significant
Environmental
Environmental Aspects
Aspects and Impacts
Establish
Identify
Activities,

Objectives,
Products
Targets and
and
Services
Programs
Determine Legal and Other
Requirements
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Environmental Aspects

• Identify environmental aspects of activities
  products and services that you can control and
  can influence
• Examples include air emissions, water discharges,
  soil contamination, use of raw materials, energy
  use, use of natural resources
• To determine those which have or can have
  significant impacts on the environment

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Legal and Other Requirements

• Identify legal requirements that apply to your
  facilitys aspects
• Identify other requirements to which you
  subscribe e.g., Executive Orders, agency/bureau
  policies or voluntary practices

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Objectives and Targets

• Develop and pursue environmental objectives and
  targets
• Consider legal and other requirements
• Consider significant aspects
• Reflect interested parties
• Reflect policy commitments
• Results guide how you will measure progress

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and Program(s)

• Develop and use a plan to achieve objectives and
  targets
• Assign responsibility
• Function
• Level
• Describe what is to be done, what will be
  measured, and what the schedule will be

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Implementation and Control
Capabilities
Organization
Controls
Accountability
Communications
Documentation and Control of Documents
Competence
Resources, Roles, Responsibility and Authority
Training and
Awareness
Operational Controls
Communication
Emergency
Preparedness and
Response
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Resources, Roles, Responsibility and Authority

• Management provides resources to implement,
  maintain and improve the system
• Roles and responsibilities are defined,
  documented, communicated

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Competence, Training and Awareness

• Ensure competence training to
• Regulatory requirements
• Standard operating procedures
• Train on
• EMS - awareness including policy
• Relationship between activities and environmental
  impacts
• Include those who perform tasks on behalf of the
  organization contractors

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Communication

• Ensure internal communication between levels
  and functions BOTH WAYS!
• Decide whether to communicate externally

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Documentation and Document Control

• Document the System
• Describes parts of the system and how they work
  together
• Control system documents
• Can be located - are legible, dated and
  maintained
• Reviewed, approved and revised as necessary
• Current versions are available to practitioner
• Obsolete documents are removed from use and
  maintained if necessary

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Operational Control

• Identify operations and activities associated
  with significant environmental aspects
• Develop and use procedures used in those
  operations and activities to address significant
  aspects to pursue objectives and targets

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Emergency Preparedness and Response

• Develop and use procedures to
• Identify potential for accidents and emergencies
  and associated environmental impact and what
  response will be
• Prevent, respond to and mitigate associated
  environmental impacts
• Review and revise procedures after emergency or
  accident

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Checking and Corrective Action
Evaluation of compliance
Monitoring and
Nonconformity,
Measuring
Records
Corrective and
Preventive Action
Periodic Internal EMS Audits
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Monitoring and Measurement

• Develop and use procedures to monitor and measure
  activities related to significant aspects
• Track performance, operational controls
• Determine success towards objectives and targets

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Evaluation of Compliance

• Develop and use a procedure to periodically
  evaluate compliance with legal requirements
• Also evaluate compliance with other
  requirements
• Records are kept of the evaluations

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Nonconformity, Corrective and Preventive Action

• Develop and use procedures defining
  responsibility and authority to address problems
  - who is responsible
• Mitigate impacts
• Identify cause
• Develop corrective action and implement it
• Modify procedures if necessary to prevent
  recurrence
• Review effectiveness of modified procedures

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Records

• Develop and use procedures for identification,
  maintenance and disposition of environmental
  records
• Training
• Audits or other reviews

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Internal EMS Audits

• Periodically audit to determine if the EMS,
• is being properly implemented and maintained
• Audit information is provided to management

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Management Review

• Take account of
• audit findings
• progress records on objectives
• changes to facilities
• changes in activities, products or services
• changes in technology
• concerns of interested parties
• other relevant information

• To Assess the
• suitability,
• adequacy, and
• effectiveness of the EMS

• In order to determine the need for change and
  improvement to
• the environmental policy
• the objectives and targets
• other elements of the EMS

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Plan Do Check Act
Continual Improvement
Environmental Policy
Management Review
Planning
Checking Corrective Action
Implementation Control
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Keep in mind

• The EMS and related measurement tools are just
  that, tools. Alone, they will not guarantee
  success. The organization must use the tools, not
  just have them.
• An effective EMS is alive constantly measuring
  performance, making adjustments, and looking for
  opportunities for continual improvement
• An EMS cycle gets repeated to ensure it is
  meeting the policy goals, working properly and
  updated as necessary

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Summary

• A formal EMS reflects an accepted framework for
  managing the environmental footprint of your
  organization including sustainable practices
• Most organizations already have several EMS
  elements in place - the system relationship is
  lacking and can be achieved by adopting the
  formal framework
• Success comes from following the framework and
  being committed to implementation and maintenance