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Environmental Management System and Cleaner Production: Basic Elements of EMS

The document discusses environmental management systems (EMS) and cleaner production. It describes an EMS as a framework that helps companies reduce environmental impacts and increase efficiency through consistent control of operations. The basic elements of an EMS include setting goals, analyzing impacts, establishing objectives and programs, and ensuring employees are aware of environmental issues. Benefits include minimizing liabilities and waste, and improving profitability. Implementing an EMS requires management commitment, resources, and a strategy. ISO 14001 provides standards for EMS certification. Cleaner production aims to minimize waste and maximize output through preventative measures. It offers advantages over EMS like innovation and economical solutions.

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KHUSHBU BHALODIYA
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211 views

Environmental Management System and Cleaner Production: Basic Elements of EMS

The document discusses environmental management systems (EMS) and cleaner production. It describes an EMS as a framework that helps companies reduce environmental impacts and increase efficiency through consistent control of operations. The basic elements of an EMS include setting goals, analyzing impacts, establishing objectives and programs, and ensuring employees are aware of environmental issues. Benefits include minimizing liabilities and waste, and improving profitability. Implementing an EMS requires management commitment, resources, and a strategy. ISO 14001 provides standards for EMS certification. Cleaner production aims to minimize waste and maximize output through preventative measures. It offers advantages over EMS like innovation and economical solutions.

Uploaded by

KHUSHBU BHALODIYA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND

CLEANER PRODUCTION
Environmental Management System: is a set of processes and practices that enable an
organization to reduce its environmental impacts and increase its operating efficiency. It
is a framework that helps a company achieve. It is environmental goals through
consistent control of its operations. The assumption is that this increased control will
improve the environmental performance of the company. The EMS itself does not dictate
a level of environmental performance that must be achieved; each company’s EMS is
tailored to the company’s business and goals.

An EMS helps a company address its regulatory demands in a systematic and


cost-effective manner. This proactive approach can help reduce the risk of non-
compliance and improve health and safety practices for employees and the public. An
EMS can also help address non-regulated issues, such as energy conservation, and can
promote stronger operational control and employee stewardship.

Basic Elements of EMS


 reviewing the company’s environmental goals
 analyzing its environmental impacts and legal requirements
 setting environmental objectives and targets to reduce environmental impacts and
comply with legal requirements
 establishing programs to meet these objectives and targets
 monitoring and measuring progress in achieving the objectives
 ensuring employees environmental awareness and competence
 reviewing progress of the EMS and making improvements

Benefits of EMS
 minimize environmental liabilities
 maximize the efficient use of resources
 reduce waste
 demonstrate a good corporate image
 build awareness of environmental concern among employees
 gain better understanding of the environmental impacts of business activities
 increase profit, improving environmental performance, through more efficient
operations
 improves environmental performance
An EMS can be a powerful tool for organizations to both improve their environmental
performance, and enhance their business efficiency. An EMS is not prescriptive;
rather it requires organizations to take an active role in examining their practices, and
then determining how their impacts should best be managed. This approach
encourages creative and relevant solutions from the organization itself.

Implementing an EMS requires


 A strong commitment from the management
 Allocation of appropriate resources
 Development of a strategy to be implemented within a specified period of time
 Implementation using a combination of internal and external resources.
International Environmental Standards – ISO 14000
The ISO 14000 series, currently being developed by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO), It was developed to provide a management system to help
organizations reduce their environmental impact. The standard provides the framework
for organizations to demonstrate their commitment to the environmental by: Reducing
harmful effects on the environment.

ISO 14001 is the standard for Environment Management Systems. Many large
businesses, particularly overseas, have obtained certification under the standard.

Five main stages of an Environmental Management System as


defined by the ISO 14001 standard
i. Environmental Policy
ii. Planning
iii. Implementation
iv. Evaluation
v. Review

ISO Survey
Every year we perform a survey of certifications to our management system standards.
The survey shows the number of valid certificates to ISO management standards (such as
ISO 9001 and ISO 14001) reported for each country, each year.

The fluctuation in number of certificates from year to year is largely due to the variability
in response from individual certification bodies. Despite our best efforts to display
consistent results, this is not always possible as we cannot guarantee the same
participation rate.

ISO does not perform certification. Organizations looking to get certified to an ISO
standard must contact an independent certification body. The ISO Survey counts the
number of certificates issued by certification bodies that have been accredited by
members of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).
ISO 14001:2015 FDIS is published
The Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) of ISO 14001:2015, the world’s first
international environmental management standard has been published.

This is the final stage in the revision journey and means you can be confident that the
information contained in the FDIS will be in line with the final version which will be
published in September.
Developed with today’s complex marketplace in mind, ISO 14001:2015 provides an
integrated approach to environmental management – putting sustainability at the heart of
business

What is CP
Cleaner production is a preventive, company-specific environmental protection initiative.
It is intended to minimize waste and emissions and maximize product output.

Comparison of ISO 14001 and Cleaner Production


Cleaner Production, when compared to ISO 14001, presents the following advantages: a
potential for economical solutions, with reduction in the amount of materials and energy
used; scope for innovation in the company, as a result of the evaluation of the production
process; minimization of waste, effluents and emissions; reduction of risks in the areas of
environmental obligations and disposal of waste.

According to LaGrega et al. (1994), the conditioning factors “technologies” and


“procedures” must evolve towards the composition of scenarios that are more
environmentally adequate, as seen in figure.
A comparison between EMSs: ISO 14001 x Cleaner Production

PARAMETERS/MANAGEMENT EMS BASED ON ISO EMS WITH CLEANER


TOOLS 14001 NORM PRODUCTION
Principles Not defined Prevention of Pollution
Focus Systemization of Identification of generating
information related to use of techniques to minimize
aspects of production waste
process: use of
techniques in general that
may minimize/treat
waste
Object of Certification Environmental Not possible of certification
Management System and
not environmental
performance
Costs Associated mainly to: Related to the adoption of
Elaboration of measures aiming at
procedures and minimizing waste
generation of the
documentation required
by ISO 14001 norm, use
of techniques of
minimization / treatment
of waste
Coverage Systemic measures
concerning: Measures aiming at reducing
Environmental Policies, consumption of energy,
Communication with supplies and raw materials,
involved parties, and minimization in the
Environmental generation of solid waste,
emergency plans etc. liquid effluents and
Survey of environmental atmospheric emissions
aspects and impacts
focus on waste, but
encompassing less than
Cleaner Production
Vision Integrated; continuous Integrated; continuous and
improvement incremental improvement
Revision and Evaluation By means of operational By means of constant analysis
mechanism Control, auditing and of environmental performance
critical analysis, using indicators
mostly indicators of an
administrative character
Refuse and Industrial Waste It privileges the process Prevention of waste at source;
Handling and controls associated limits the use of landfill sites;
to the focuses in the End condemns a indiscriminate
of Pipe technologies and incineration
attendance to the
legislation
Directives Determined by local Use international standards
certification offices
Applicability Greater in mid to large All companies, including
companies small and micro enterprises

References

 http://www.epa.gov/ems/
 http://www.environment.gov.au/node/20494
 http://www.ericssonlg.com/site/ericssonlg/menu/142.do
 http://emb.gov.ph/eeid/EMS.htm
 http://www.joscm.com.br/previous/2-1/files/joscm_vol02_5.pdf

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