October 2005

Government Recommends Environmental Management Systems - What Makes Them Good?

The 2005 UK Sustainable Development Strategy "Securing the Future" calls for an increase in the take up of Environmental Management Systems (EMSs).

In September the Environment Strategy Directorate within Defra published the Government position statement on Environmental Management Systems. The aim is to clarify how environmental management systems can help business and the public sector, and what makes a good EMS.

Why use an Environmental Management System?

The Government suggests that implementing an EMS can help organisations:

improve their resource efficiency and reduce costs
help conformity with customer requirements in the supply chain; suppliers are increasingly expected to have an accredited EMS in place.
enable sustainable procurement policies
enhance an organisation’s reputation
help improve communication with employees, shareholders and other stakeholders

The Environment Agency takes account of EMSs in its risk-based approach to regulation through the Operator and Pollution Risk Appraisal (OPRA) scheme - linked to fees and charges levied on IPPC-regulated sites - so having an EMS can result in lower costs.

Local authority regulatory regimes also provide benefits to organisations with robust and effective EMSs. Companies with an EMS also benefit under Climate Change Agreements and in the market for contract compliance.

Which EMS?

The Government recommends that organisations use one of the three recognised national or international standards or schemes:

ISO 14001 – the international standard for EMSs which specifies the features and requirements necessary to help organisations systematically identify, evaluate, manage and improve the environmental impacts of their activities, products and services.

EMAS (the EU Eco Management and Audit Scheme) – a voluntary EU wide scheme which requires organisations to produce a public statement about their performance, focuses on legislative compliance and includes ISO 14001 as the requirement for the EMS component.

BS 8555 - breaks down the implementation process for ISO 14001 or EMAS into 6 stages.

BS 8555 can be used to help organisations manage the performance of their suppliers, set the ‘stage’ that they need to achieve by a specific date and monitor their progress using an online register.

What Makes a Good EMS?

According to Defra, to fully contribute to improved environmental performance, a good EMS should:

be implemented at a strategic level with top-level commitment and integrated into corporate plans.
identify the organisation’s impacts on the environment and set clear objectives to improve their management of these aspects as well as the organisation’s overall environmental performance.
be designed to deliver and manage compliance with environmental laws and regulations on an ongoing basis, and will quickly instigate corrective and preventative action in cases of legal non-compliance.
incorporate assured performance metrics and deliver good resource management and financial benefits.
demonstrate and communicate the above in a transparent manner to gain and protect reputational value.

What if an EMS is not approved by a UKAS accredited certifier?

Evidence of system failures such as breaches of consents and licenses, significant increases in emissions, errors in measurement of data, or minor accidents etc. will be reported in the environmental press.

It will also lead to contractual problems with suppliers, loss of support from customers and increased costs associated with prosecution and enforcement notices by regulators.

Scope for Greater Take-Up of EMSs

There are now about 6,000 UK organisations with ISO 14001 certificates, although not all of these are externally certified. However, this still represents a small proportion of businesses overall, particularly SMEs. By contrast 80,000 companies are certified for the Quality Management Standard ISO 9001.

The Government sees potential for much wider take up of EMSs while recognising that it is a major challenge to address the implementation of robust and effective EMSs across all sizes of organisation and in every sector.

If you are interested to discuss preparing, introducing or improving an Environmental Management System, contact Steve Stones on 024 7632 3260.

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