Acorn BS8555 Special Edition

BS8555 - A Phased Approach To Environmental Management

BS8555 is an environmental management system that improves business competitiveness, sustainability and, ultimately, profits. BS8555 is especially suited to smaller businesses, particularly those where external certification is necessary to demonstrate effective environmental management to stakeholders, especially suppliers.

BS8555 provides a route to external recognition that can be used as a competitive advantage. Although BS8555 makes particular reference to small and medium-sized enterprises, any organisation can benefit from the phased approach to EMS implementation.

Many companies are looking to improve their environmental performance and, as with any other key operating process, taking a structured approach helps ensure a successful and cost-effective outcome. Using the BS8555 format provides a phased approach to implementing an Environmental Management System (EMS), such as ISO 14001 or EMAS (the Eco-management and Audit Scheme).

The standard was initially developed and piloted through The Acorn Trust and is now managed by the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA).

The Benefits of BS8555

There are many benefits of becoming BS8555 accredited, including:

Cost savings that go straight to your bottom line
Compliance with environmental legislation
Reduced environmental risk
Improved stakeholder relations
Entry to green supply chains
Ability to meet regulatory change
External verification of your environmental performance

The phased approach to implementing BS8555 makes the attainment of accreditation easier than you think. It provides a phased structure for implementing an EMS that will successfully manage your environmental impacts and result in direct financial benefits.

BS8555 breaks down the process of implementing a formal EMS into six logical progressive phases, providing organisations with the opportunity to develop an EMS at a pace that is appropriate to them. It meets the ISO 14001 and EMAS requirements through a step-by-step approach. For each phase, there are a number of stages with their own stated achievement criteria, which in turn provides a model for assessment and recognition.

The phased process is designed around a generic EMS, but is also in line with ISO 14001 and EMAS. In addition, it is one of the aims of the guidance in the standard to develop environmental performance indicators to reflect the environmental aspects of activities, products or service delivery. These indicators can be used within the context of an EMS and as part of other performance evaluation and reporting frameworks.

The Six Phases of the standard are:

Commitment and Establishing the Baseline.
Identifying and Ensuring Compliance with Legal, and other Requirements.
Developing Objectives, Targets and Programmes.
Implementation and Operation of the Environmental Management System.
Checking, Audit and Review.
Environmental Management System Acknowledgement.

After each phase of the scheme has been implemented, the organisation can either assess themselves through internal audits or, for certified recognition, be assessed by a third party to ensure that the requirements of each phase have been met.

As part of the final phase, the organisation can be audited to ensure its EMS meets all of the requirements of ISO 14001. If successful, the organisation would receive certification to the ISO 14001 standard. The organisation’s environmental performance data can also be verified and the management system audited against the requirements of EMAS.

The Next Steps

For more information on the implementation of BS8555 in your organisation or within your supply chain, contact Aneeta Patel on (024) 7627 9000.