5 Fundamentals of the Environmental Management System

 Environmental management is now an indispensable part of every organization’s strategy because of adverse effects of business activities on nature and its resources. It puts emphasis on the implementation of the ISO 14001 environmental management standard, which promotes best measures and regulations for preventing environmental risks and reducing the impacts. An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a framework encompassing the practices for environmental management. It helps organizations to reduce the negative impacts and increase sustainability. The ISO 14001 standard provides them with key requirements for establishing the right EMS framework. In short, achieving the ISO 14001 standard verifies that your EMS is effective in controlling your environmental impacts and meets the organization’s goals regarding environmental sustainability. 


However, to develop an appropriate and suitable EMS for your business, what you first need is to understand the fundamentals of EMS. The following section explains the fundamentals that you should consider to develop your EMS. 



5 Fundamentals you Must Consider for Your Environmental Management System


All-inclusive Environmental Policy 


A properly written or documented environmental policy is the first pillar of a successful EMS. It should be developed and implemented based on the policy. The environmental policy should be formed after careful evaluation of: 


• The environmental impacts created by your day-to-day operations

• Potential risks to the people and flora and fauna around your business locations

• Interests of the stakeholders of your business regarding environmental safety


The policy should be a clear statement that outlines your organization’s objectives and performance targets in the area of environmental management.  It should be also properly communicated to the internal as well as external members of your organization so that they get an idea of the purpose of your EMS. 


Equal Participation and Responsibility


The EMS should be considered a collective responsibility of the organization’s members. Everyone, from top managers to mid-level and subordinate staff, should be aware of it. They should carry out the practices or procedures underlined by the EMS and participate in decision makings. Further, the employees should understand their responsibility to reduce the wastes generated in the business by streamlining processes, reusing and recycling resources, innovating processes, and eliminating redundant or repetitive tasks. Reducing the wastes also helps in saving certain costs for your business that could have been required in treating or disposing of the wastes. 


Sustainability


Ensuring the sustainability of resources must be a key objective of your EMS. Employees should be trained and incentivized to bring ideas for sustainable practices across the organization. They should brainstorm ideas to use every resource efficiently and in a fair way, to minimize the costs for resources as well as your energy bills and preserve resources for the future.


Management Review and Corrections


The management team of your organization should conduct reviews of the EMS at frequent intervals. It is necessary to ensure that the EMS is operating effectively and within its determined scope. Management reviews help in finding any inconsistencies or errors in the function of the EMS. Eventually, you can take remedial measures to eliminate them and retain the efficiency of the EMS.


Continual Improvement


The EMS, just like any other business management system, must be operated with the principle of continual improvement. This means your organization should be able to scale and evolve the EMS in accordance with the changing environmental challenges, goals, and circumstances. 


Final Takeaway


Meeting these key fundamentals with your EMS is not only necessary for successful environmental management, but also to achieve the ISO 14001 standard. An increasing number of organizations are achieving the ISO 14001 environmental management standard to demonstrate their environmental performance and gain the trust of their stakeholders. It proves that they have a robust management system which is built adhering to the fundamental principles of environmental management and helps them to control and minimize their impacts. 

Contact Details:

Business Name: Compliancehelp Consulting, LLC

Email Id: info@quality-assurance.com

Phone No: 877 238 5855

Also Read: Know Your Quality Objectives and Plan to Achieve Them with This Guide

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Overview of ISO 13485 Certification: Who Needs It and Why

Image
 ISO 13485 is the designated standard for quality management of medical devices. A Quality Management System (QMS) is the most indispensable management system needed in every business to help meet their customers’ needs continuously. In other words, it helps in maintaining a business’s position or competitiveness in the market. Since the medical device industry must focus specifically on maintaining the quality and reliability of products for patients’ safety, the ISO 13485 certification is instrumental for their QMS. Here is why businesses in the medical device industry should be conscious of the certification and why it is important.  What is the ISO 13485 Certification? ISO 13485 was clearly designed to assist manufacturers or businesses in the medical device industry with a powerful QMS. To achieve this certification, they need to standardize their processes and adopt effective quality management practices. It ensures that there is consistency in all the phases of producti...
Read more

Does the ISO 9001 Certification Augment Cost Effective Initiatives?

Image
The ISO 9001 certification is a widely adopted standard for quality management systems. The reason is the stringent protocols it offers and its comprehensive approach to quality assurance. A company’s long-term strategies must incorporate quality control measures as service quality is a key factor for brand establishment and brand loyalty along with other than promotional campaigns and marketing. The common question is whether accreditation helps with a company’s fundamental tactics for cost management or not. Small and medium-size companies that want to sustain their market pressure and competition based on their quality often raise this question. Their primary goals are to stabilize their profit margin, increase the number of loyal customers, and market expansion. The ISO 9001 is a single solution to a dozen such concerns. It has a robust structure that consists of a plethora of business requirements and one of them is cost management. The following blog will outline the ISO 9001’s ...
Read more

Bridging the Gaps in Your Quality Management Procedures

Image
If your business is striving to prosper and acquire more customers by providing quality products or services, then get your approach to quality management adherent with ISO 9001 standard. It is the international standard for the quality management system (QMS) achieved by millions of businesses worldwide. It specifies the regulations or guidelines for quality management that organizations need to adopt for ensuring quality and reliability of their products or services. But how to get your quality management approach compliant with ISO 9001 regulations? Well, bridging the gaps in your QMS to achieve ISO 9001 compliance is a systematic process. To figure out the steps involved in the gap analysis, you need support from a quality assurance services company . You can also do it yourself with a fully competent team having proper understanding of the regulations and practices specified by ISO 9001. While bridging the gaps in your quality management framework can h quality assurance services ...
Read more