0% found this document useful (0 votes)
10 views

EPM_MODULE 3

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
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
10 views

EPM_MODULE 3

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
You are on page 1/ 26

Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Module -3 Environmental Management System

• ISO 14000 - EMS as per ISO 14001

• Benefits and Barriers Of EMS

• Concept of Continual Improvement and Pollution Prevention

• Environmental Policy

• Initial Environmental Review

• Environmental Aspect and Impact Analysis

• Legal and other requirements

• Objectives and Targets

• Environmental Management Programs

• Structure and Responsibility

• Training Awareness and Competence

• Communication

• Documentation and Document Control

• Operational Control

• Monitoring and Measurement

• Management Review

• EMAS

1
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

ISO 14000

ISO 14000 is defined as a series of international environmental management standards, guides,


and technical reports. ISO 14000 is the international standard that specifies requirements for an
effective environmental management system (EMS).

The aim of the ISO 14000 series of standards is to help organizations implement and improve their
EMS. The primary objective of the ISO 14000 series of standards is to promote effective
environmental management systems in organizations. It provides a framework that an organization
can follow, rather than establishing environmental performance requirements.

The standards specify requirements for establishing an environmental management policy,


determining environmental impacts of products or services, planning environmental objectives,
implementing programs to meet objectives, and conducting corrective action and management
review.

The standards seek to provide cost-effective tools that make use of best practices for organizing
and applying information about environmental management.

The ISO 14000 family was developed in response to a recognized industry need for
standardization. With different organizational approaches to environmental management,
comparisons of systems and collaboration had proved difficult. ISO 14000 standards and practices
can be applied to any organization, regardless of size or industry.

The ISO 14000 family includes most notably the ISO 14001 standard, which represents the core
set of standards used by organizations for designing and implementing an effective environmental
management system (EMS). Other standards in this series include ISO 14004, which gives
additional guidelines for a good EMS and standards that are more specialized dealing with specific
aspects of environmental management

ISO 14001 requires an organization to:

• develop an environmental policy with a commitment to compliance;

• have a procedure for identifying and having access to environmental laws and regulations;

2
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

• set objectives and targets that are in line with its environmental policy (which includes a
commitment to compliance);

• establish operational control procedures;

• establish procedures for emergency preparedness and response;

• establish a procedure for periodically evaluating compliance

ISO 14000 History

History of ISO 14000

• The first environmental management system standard, BS 7750, was published in 1992 by
the BSI group.

• In 1996, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) created the ISO 14000
family of standards.

• ISO 14001 underwent revision in 2004.

• The current revision of ISO 14001 was published in September 2015.

3
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Environmental Management Systems (EMS)

An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a set of processes and practices that enable an
organization to reduce its environmental impacts and increase its operating efficiency.

An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a framework that helps an organization achieve


its environmental goals through consistent review, evaluation, and improvement of its
environmental performance.

The assumption is that this consistent review and evaluation will identify opportunities for
improving and implementing the environmental performance of the organization. The EMS itself
does not dictate a level of environmental performance that must be achieved; each organization's
EMS is tailored to its own individual objectives and targets. An EMS can also help address non-
regulated issues, such as energy conservation, and can promote stronger operational control and
employee stewardship.

Core elements of EMS include the following:

1. Environmental policy: An environmental policy is usually published as a written


statement, expressing the commitment of the senior management to improving appropriate
environmental performance

2. Environment action plan: An environment programme or action plan describes the


measures the organization will take over the coming year(s).

3. Environment related organizational structures: The structures establish assignments,


delegate authority and assign responsibility for actions.

4. Integration of environmental concerns: The integration of environmental management


into regular operation means the establishment of procedures for incorporating
environmental measures into other operational aspects

4
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Environmental Management System Process

Environmental Management System Process

1. Environmental policy: Develop a statement of your organization’s commitment to the


environment. Use this policy as a framework for planning and action.

2. Environmental aspects: Identify environmental attributes of your products, activities and


services. Determine those that could have significant impacts on the environment.

3. Legal and other requirements: Identify and ensure access to relevant laws and
regulations (and other requirements to which your organization adheres).

4. Objectives and targets: Establish environmental goals for your organization, in line with
your policy, environmental impacts, views of interested parties and other factors.

5. Environmental management program: Plan actions to achieve objectives and targets.

6. Structure and responsibility: Establish roles and responsibilities and provide resources.

5
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

7. Training, awareness and competence: Ensure that your employees are trained and
capable of carrying out their environmental responsibilities.

8. Communication: Establish processes for internal and external communications on


environmental management issues.

9. EMS documentation: Maintain information on your EMS and related documents.

10. Document control: Ensure effective management of procedures and other system
documents.

11. Operational control: Identify, plan and manage your operations and activities in line with
your policy, objectives and targets.

12. Emergency preparedness and response: Identify potential emergencies and develop
procedures for preventing and responding to them.

13. Monitoring and measurement: Monitor key activities and track performance.

14. Nonconformance and corrective and preventive action: Identify and correct problems
and prevent recurrences.

15. Records: Keep adequate records of EMS performance.

16. EMS audit: Periodically verify that your EMS is operating as intended.

17. Management review: Periodically review your EMS with an eye to continual
improvement.

Benefits of EMS:

• Improved environmental performance

• Enhanced compliance

• Pollution prevention

• Resource conservation

• New customers/markets

6
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

• Increased efficiency/reduced costs

• Enhanced employee morale

• Enhanced image with public, regulators, lenders, investors

• Employee awareness of environmental issues and responsibilities

Barriers of EMS:

• Lack of management commitment

• Lack of awareness about EMS

• Employees are unable to perceive the benefit of EMS and relate these to their own benefits

• No emphasis/focus on training the employees to be able to meet the Environmental Policy


Objectives

• Documentation may prove a deterrent. Companies may feel that EMS leads to generation
of too much paperwork and hence may not implement the system.

• Cost of Certification is prohibitive, especially SMEs, find it difficult to bear the cost of
getting auditors from abroad

• Recurring cost of certification. Every 3 years companies need to apply for re-certification.

• Changing priorities for the company.

• Lack of trained and qualified manpower e.g., auditors in the country.

• The system may remain on paper and be implemented only for audit purposes.

• No clear emphasis on developing/strengthening institutions within the country to promote


implementation of EMS.

7
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Initial Environmental Review:

The first step in creating an EMS is to perform an Initial Environmental Review. This tells
organization where they are and creates a road map for the organization. In order to build a solid
environmental management system it is essential to understand exactly how the activities, products
and services of the organization interact with the environment.

This process will enable organization to understand what aspects of the organization have a
significant environmental impact. It will ensure that other aspects of the environmental
management system – policy, objectives, targets and the management program – are focused on
those areas where organization can gain the most benefits. The environmental review is the starting
point for a good environmental management system.

Initial Environmental Review enables organization to:

• identify how existing site operations have an environmental impact – eg. the impact of
normal operating conditions, abnormal conditions and emergency situations

• establish which of these impacts are significant and need improvement by setting
objectives and targets

• identify breaches or potential breaches of environmental legislation

• identify relevant EMS documentation which needs to be put in place

• quantify emissions, discharges, and material and utility use

• identify opportunities for improving performance and minimising waste

• evaluate previous emergency situations and accidents

• develop your environmental policy

Benefits of an Initial Environmental Review

The Initial Environmental Review helps determine the organization’s environmental position, and
should include:

• Environmental statutory and regulatory requirements

8
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

• Recognize items/areas with environmental impact

• Environmental Performance Criteria

• Feedback of previous experiences

• Opportunities for improvement in-house as well as external (contractors, vendors, etc.)

Environmental Policy:

An environmental policy is usually published as a written statement, expressing the commitment


of the senior management to improving appropriate environmental performance. Environmental
policy is the commitment of an organization or government to the laws, regulations, and other
policy mechanisms concerning environmental issues. These issues generally include air and water
pollution, waste management, ecosystem management, maintenance of biodiversity, the protection
of natural resources, wildlife and endangered species

The ISO 14001 standard is probably the best reference standard for the development of an
environmental policy.

In summary, an environmental policy must be:

• appropriate to the organization;

• include a commitment for continual improvement and prevention of pollution;

• include a commitment to comply to relevant legal and other requirements; and,

• provide the framework for setting and reviewing environmental objectives and targets

It is most often understood as a public statement of the intentions and principles of action for the
organization regarding the environment. The policy statement should define the broad
environmental goals the organization has decided to achieve. These are most clear if they are
quantified, e.g., to reduce emissions of pollutants by 95% within 5 years, to provide sewerage and
biological treatment of sludge for 60% of the population within 3 years, etc.

9
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Concerning environmental policy, the importance of implementation of an eco-energy-oriented


policy at a global level to address the issues of global warming and climate changes should be
accentuated. Policies concerning energy or regulation of toxic substances including pesticides and
many types of industrial waste are part of the topic of environmental policy. This policy can be
deliberately taken to direct and oversee human activities and thereby prevent harmful effects on
the biophysical environment and natural resources, as well as to make sure that changes in the
environment do not have harmful effects on humans.

Benefits of developing an environmental policy:

An organization can publicly advertise that it has considered its environmental performance and
has adopted best practice or is working towards improving its environmental performance. It is all
relative to the organization and the type of industry but the environmental policy can advertise the
environmental status and environmental objectives of the organization to all stakeholders.

Current and potential clients can read the statement and are able to determine whether they would
like to continue or start business with the organization. It also can provide clear direction to all
stakeholders about the organization’s environmental values.

10
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Environmental Aspect and Impact Analysis:

Identification and evaluation of significant environmental aspects, especially in the planning


phase, is the most fundamental part of ISO 14001. To understand the environmental aspects and
impacts is one of the key success factors of implementing an ISO 14001 EMS.

An environmental aspect is the way your activity, service, or product impacts the environment.
For example, one of the environmental aspects of car washing may be a cleaning agent that has
potential for water pollution (this pollution is the environmental impact).

An environmental impact is a change to the environment. Environmental impacts are caused by


environmental aspects.

All activities, services, and products that fall within your defined scope have to be taken into
consideration to identify environmental aspects and impacts. An activity is a part of the core
business (e.g., production process steps). Service means an auxiliary service that supports core
activities (e.g., boilers, heating & cooling, maintenance). A product is the goods you offer for
market. An environmental aspect of the product could be, e.g., excessive packaging of the product,
or level of recyclability of the product at the end of its lifecycle.

Aspects can be divided into direct and indirect. Direct environmental aspects are associated with
activities, products, and services of the organization itself, over which it has direct management
control (e.g., how you manage waste on your site).

However, for non-industrial organizations the focus will often be on indirect environmental aspects
of their activities (e.g., how your subcontractor manages waste on your site, chain controlled
aspects, customer controlled aspects). The identification of environmental aspects often considers,
e.g., emissions to air, releases to water and land, use of raw material, waste and natural resources,
impacts on biodiversity, etc.

11
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Legal and other requirements-

Almost all organizations implementing ISO 14001 are aware that legal requirements are the
foundation and basic requirement of ISO 14001.

Legal requirement compliance in ISO 14001 includes:

1. Environmental Policy should reflect the commitment of top management to comply with
applicable legal requirements and other requirements, supported by adequate resources.

2. The organization may find environmental regulations on the website of government agencies
in charge of environmental protection or on other specialized services. In a wide list of
regulations, you should choose only those that are applicable to your business.

3. The organization should plan how to comply with legal requirements. If you find during
identification of applicable legal requirements that you are partially in compliance with a
specific applicable regulation, or you have completely ignored it, now is the time to set it as a
target.

4. In the implementation phase, the organization should have instruments in place for dealing
with legal requirements (e.g., sufficient documents to demonstrate compliance, responsibilities
and authorities

5. Periodic evaluation of compliance is important, because even if your organization is in


compliance today you cannot be sure that it will be in compliance in six months or a year

6. Where a non-compliance with legal requirements is discovered, the organization is required to


take immediate corrective action, which may include actions to immediately inform the
environmental regulator depending on the specific legal requirements and magnitude of the
non-compliance.

7. The environmental management representative to inform top management through the


management review process about results of evaluation of compliance and possible changes in
legal requirements. This is to ensure that top management is aware of the risks of potential or
actual non-compliance and has taken appropriate steps to meet the commitment to legal
compliance.

12
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Some of the important legislations for environment protection are as follows:

• The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010

• The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981

• The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974

• The Environment Protection Act, 1986

• The Hazardous Waste Management Regulations, etc.

Objectives and Targets:

By definition, an objective is “a thing aimed at or sought; a goal.” In ISO 14001 you are using
your environmental objectives to identify, track, and notify employees and interested parties what
the goals of organization environmental management system (EMS) improvements are to be. They
need to be made relevant at all levels of the organization that need to know them, and they need to
be consistent with organization environmental policy, since this is the overall stated goal of the
EMS.

In the ISO 14001 standard they discuss objectives and targets together, and this can help
organization to understand them better. The best objectives are referred to as S.M.A.R.T.
objectives (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based), and this way of creating
objectives makes a target an integral part of the objective.

13
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

• Specific: The first thing that is needed in a good objective is that it be specific, including a
specific target.

• Measurable: Hand in hand with the specific objective is an objective that can be measured.
If you have no way of measuring how a process is performing now, then how will you
know if you have made any improvement? The standard itself even mentions that
objectives and targets should be measurable where practicable.

• Agreed: To make objective happen organization need to have it agreed upon by those who
will be doing the work.

• Realistic: By making a goal realistic, organization can better gather the necessary
cooperation of the people in the process that are affected by the change.

• Time-Based: Having a time associated with the completion of the objective allows for
tracking organization progress toward achieving your goals.

14
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Environmental Management Programs:

An Environmental Management Program is the roadmap the organization will follow to achieve
its environmental objectives and targets. It is a document that provides the details of what must be
done, by whom, how, and when, for each of the defined objectives and targets. The objectives and
targets themselves must be assigned priorities at the start.

When devising the environmental program:

• Management must designate responsibility for achieving the objectives and targets at each
function and level within the organization.

• Management must provide the means for fulfilling the objectives and targets. In a practical
sense, this means allocating resources, such as people, skills, technologies, and financing.
If the company is going to truly commit to implementing an EMS, then in short,
management needs to put the corporation's money where its mouth is.

• A time frame in which objectives and targets will be achieved needs to be established. The
implementers need to be challenged to meet a realistic implementation schedule with the
resources that are made available.

The environmental management program should be integrated into the company's overall strategic
plan. Within the spirit of the EMS, environmental management programs should be reviewed
periodically and revised regularly to reflect changes in the company's objectives and targets.

Concept of continual improvement and pollution prevention:

Continual Improvement is an important aspect of any EMS and ISO 14001 references it in five
separate clauses. To fully benefit from it, it’s not enough to implement a system based on ISO
14001, or even to have your EMS certified as ISO 14001-compliant—the organization must
monitor and maintain its system, and find ways to improve to it. Similarly, the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) reviews and revises its standards in an ongoing effort to
improve relevance and effectiveness.

15
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Continuous improvement aims to:

• Increase Efficiency

• Increase Quality

• Reduce Costs

Organizations that implement continuous improvement achieve this by making small, gradual
improvements over time.

Aspects of an Improvement Plan

1. Improvement is based on small changes - that can be implemented immediately


2. Input from the entire workforce is necessary - (employees performing the process need to
be involved in change decisions)
3. Employees must be allowed to take ownership of improvement decisions - and will be
more invested in the changes that they came up with in the first place
4. Communication regarding the change is crucial to ongoing success - this is harder with
bigger organizations, which is why having some type of continuous improvement software
is important
5. The improvement must be analyzed - to see whether it really is effective (another reason
why software is necessary)

Pollution prevention:

Pollution prevention is defined to mean the use of processes or practices that reduce or eliminate
the use of hazardous substances and the generation of pollutants or wastes at the source. This
contrasts with pollution control, which relies on end of pipe treatment.

Pollution prevention also includes practices that reduce the use of energy, water or other resources
through conservation or more efficient use.

Where pollution prevention is not feasible, the EMS should include options for recycling,treatment
and disposal, considered in that order.

16
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Pollution Prevention Criteria:

The facility shall establish and maintain an environmental management system, which must
include the following pollution prevention criteria.

a. Provide for recycling or treatment of hazardous wastes (in that order) where pollution
prevention is not technically or economically feasible.

b. Are available to the public on request.

c. Are actively communicated to employees.

d. Establish a commitment from top management to implement the policies and to review
and evaluate the EMS at periodic intervals

Structure and Responsibility

For EMS to be effective, roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined and communicated. In
an organization, the commitment of all employees is needed.

Top management plays a key role by providing the resources needed to ensure that the EMS is
implemented effectively. Ensuring this capability is one of the most important jobs of top
management.

Top management should appoint a management representative.

This representative:

1. ensures that the EMS is established and implemented;

2. reports on its performance over time; and

3. works with others to modify the EMS when necessary.

17
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Functions How They Can Help (Possible Roles)

Purchasing • Develop and implement controls for chemical / other material


purchases
Human Resources • Define competency requirements and job descriptions for
various EMS roles
• Integrate environmental management into reward, discipline and
appraisal systems
Maintenance • Implement preventive maintenance program for key equipment

Finance • Track data on environmental management costs


• Prepare budgets for environmental management program
• Evaluate economic feasibility of environmental projects
Engineering • Consider environmental impacts of new or modified products
and processes
• Identify pollution prevention opportunities
Top Management • Communicate importance of EMS throughout organization
• Provide necessary resources
• Track and review EMS performance
Line Workers • Provide first-hand knowledge of environmental aspects of their
operations
• Support training for new employees

18
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Training, Awareness and Competence

Competence:

The first step is to identify what skills and abilities are required for a person to perform the job
function so as to avoid the potential significant impacts. This competence can be gained in the
form of outside education, training, or experience. For instance, if you have a chemical process
that must maintain the concentration of a bath to a certain pH, or else there will be unwanted air
emissions, then this bath concentration must be maintained.

If you require the operator to measure the concentrations and adjust the pH level through addition
of an acid or base, then there is a level of chemical knowledge required to perform this action. It
may not require the operator to hold a degree in chemistry, but chemical knowledge must be there
in order to avoid the unwanted environmental impact of air emissions.

Training:

After identifying what competencies are required for the processes to avoid potential significant
environmental impacts, you need to find people with these competencies to fill these positions. Of
course, in reality there will often be a choice of candidates who have many of the required
competencies, but not all of them. This is where training comes into place, especially when you
are first implementing your environmental management system and find that the people already
doing a job do not have all of the competencies that are newly identified for the position.

Training can come in many forms, from enrollment in external programs offered by colleges,
universities, or specialized training companies, to on-the-job training where an experienced person
works with a less-experienced individual to teach them the knowledge they need to perform the
job. The employee in the example above need not attain a degree in chemical engineering to
perform the job, but they may need to gain an understanding of the chemical processes required to
safely perform their tasks.

19
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Awareness:

Even those who have the desired competencies need to be made aware of how their tasks can lead
to the identified potential environmental impacts. The requirements of ISO 14001 separate the
need for awareness into four distinct areas:

• Conforming to the environmental policy and procedures. When people understand why
a policy or procedure is in place, they are much more likely to follow that requirement.
Telling employees that they need to prevent pollution from their process is one thing, but
when they understand that not following the process can lead to environmental damage and
potential fines that can lead to company insolvency, they may be more likely to follow the
rules.

• Significant environmental aspects and potential impacts. The person running a


chemical process may know that uncontrolled waste emissions from that process can be
harmful to the environment if not properly controlled, but they may not understand what
those controls need to be. Awareness of the proper procedure and the benefits of following
it are important to compliance with the rule.

• Roles and responsibilities to achieve conformity. If a person does not understand what
their role is, they are very unlikely to perform that role. This is particularly important when
you are dealing with a temporary employee or contractor who will not know your specific
processes unless you tell them. For example, if you expect that all fluorescent light bulbs
will be collected and stored for proper recycling, but do not tell a contractor or summer
student who is employed to replace the bulbs, then they may just throw them in the regular
garbage because they did not understand that this was their role.

• Potential consequences of departure from procedures. This links directly back to my


first point: if employees are aware of the consequences of not following the procedures,
such as environmental damage or fines for the organization, they are more likely to
understand why the procedure needs to be followed rather than just following it because
that is what is written. Many employees gain a great deal of pride and satisfaction in their
work if they better understand why it is important.

20
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Communications:

Communication is the glue that holds together the elements of an environmental management
system. Effective environmental management requires effective communications.

Communications will help:

• motivate the workforce;

• explain the environmental policy (both internally and externally) and how it relates to the
overall business vision / strategy;

• ensure understanding of roles and expectations;

• demonstrate management commitment;

• monitor performance; and,

• identify potential system improvements.

Effective internal communications require mechanisms for information to flow top-down and
bottom-up. Since employees are on the “front lines,” they are often an excellent source of
information, issues and ideas.

Communicating with external parties is also important for effective environmental management.
Obtaining the views of neighbors, community groups, and customers, (among others), will help
you understand how your organization is perceived by others. Information from external sources
can be critical in setting environmental and other business goals.

An effective EMS should include procedures for:

• communicating internally (between levels and functions), and

• soliciting, receiving, documenting and responding to external communications.

21
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Documentation and document control:

Documents are an important element of an environmental management system (EMS) as they


provide written evidence of procedures, records and instructions. They can also provide a history
of the EMS, enabling organization to check whether improvements are continuing to being made.

Documents likely to be part of EMS include:

• an environmental policy

• objectives and targets

• structure and responsibilities for those involved in environmental work in your business

• information on how the EMS operates

• how documents and operational procedures are controlled

• monitoring and measurement records

• corrective and preventive action

• records, eg training and auditing information

• management review decisions

Document control procedure should designate responsibility and authority for preparing
documents, making changes to them and keeping them up-to-date. In other words, organization
need to make it clear who can actually change documents

Factors to be considered to control any documents organization needs to create:

• Approve for adequacy

• Review, update and re-approve

• Identify changes and current revision status

• Ensure relevant version is available

• Prevent unintended use when obsolete

22
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Operational Control

Effective operational planning and control lies at the heart of every effective EMS (Environmental
Management System).

The operation control defined must should take into consideration:

• create controls in line with its environmental requirements to ensure that the design and
development process for the product or service considers the life cycle stage

• define the environmental requirements for the procurement of products and services

• communicate all relevant environmental requirements to external providers which include


contractors

• consider the need to provide information in regards to the end-of-life treatment of products
and services with consideration in, transportation, delivery, use, and final disposal.

• maintain detailed documentation to ensure that the processes have been carried out as
planned

If an operation or activity is complex, and/or the environmental impacts have the potential to be
significant, these controls put in place should take the form of documented procedures. To develop
an effective EMS an organization must determine which operations should be covered by
documented procedures and how those operations should be controlled

23
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Monitoring and Measurement:

Monitoring helps organization to manage business better. An EMS without an effective monitoring
and measurement program is like driving at night without the headlights on — you know that you
are moving but you can’t tell where you are going!

Monitoring and measurement enables you to:

• gauge your environmental performance;

• analyze root causes of problems;

• identify areas where corrective action is needed; and,

• improve performance / increase efficiency.

Organization should develop procedures to:

• monitor key characteristics of operations and activities that can have significant
environmental impacts;

• track performance (including how well organization meet objectives and targets);

• calibrate and maintain monitoring equipment; and,

• through internal audits, periodically evaluate your compliance with applicable laws and
regulations

Management Review:

Management review is intended to ensure that the environmental management system is healthy,
and to look for places that improvement can happen. Management reviews also offer a great
opportunity to keep EMS efficient and cost-effective.

Top management must periodically review the EMS in order to:

• Ensure its continuing suitability, adequacy and effectiveness.


• Address possible needs for changes to the environmental policy, objectives and targets,
and other elements of the EMS.
• Identify opportunities for continual improvement.

24
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)

It is a premium management instrument developed by the European Commission for companies


and other organizations to evaluate, report, and improve their environmental performance. EMAS
is open to every type of organization eager to improve its environmental performance and achieve
recognition.

The aim of EMAS is to recognize and reward those organizations that go beyond minimum legal
compliance and continuously improve their environmental performance.

EMAS helps the organization in:

PERFORMANCE: EMAS supports organisations in finding the right tools to improve their
environmental performance. Participating organisations voluntarily commit to both evaluating and
reducing their environmental impact.

CREDIBILITY: Third party verification guarantees the external and independent nature of the
EMAS registration process.

TRANSPARENCY: Providing publicly available information on an organisation’s


environmental performance is an important aspect of EMAS. Organisations achieve greater
transparency both externally through the environmental statement and internally through
employees' active involvement.

EMAS calls for maintenance of an effective environmental management system (EMS) which
ensures that an environmental policy is available, that objectives, targets and programmes are set
to improve environmental performance and the promulgation of such to ensure continuous
improvement as a whole.

Benefits of EMAS:

• EMAS registrants can use the EMAS logo to promote their achievement and commitment
to environmental performance.

• Improved stakeholder relationships.

• The EMAS Register lists the details of all organizations that have met the requirements
and are currently registered.

25
Environmental Protection Management (21CV753) By: Dhanashree N Nerlikar

• Enhanced credibility and recognition

• Improved environmental management

• Reduced operating costs

• Customer satisfaction

Implementation:

In order to register with EMAS, an organization must comply with the following implementation
steps:

• Environmental review
• Environmental policy
• Environmental programme
• Environmental management system
• Environmental audit
• Environmental statement
• Verification and Registration

26

You might also like