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Before reading further, have a think about the two points below:
- What do we do in our private lives to help the environment?
- What do we do at work that may affect the environment?
WHY ARE COMPANIES/ORGANISATIONS GETTING INVOLVED IN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT?
For many companies, both world wide and throughout the UK, environmental management is becoming a
priority business issue and as important as health and safety considerations. This is due to the
fact that environmental legislation is stricter and more widespread, coupled with pressure from
consumers due to increased awareness of environmental pollution.
Managing the environment will help a company comply with environmental laws, set up an environmental
strategy and also may lead to financial savings through better management of wastes and recycling of
materials, and reduced bills from careful energy use.
Upon a company considering implementation of an environmental management system (EMS) certain factors
need to be considered such as the size of the company and the environmental risks posed by the work
and activities undertaken on site. For example, in a small office based company where the risk of
environmental pollution is low, the environmental strategy may be to:
- Minimise waste through measures such as recycling paper.
- Conserve energy through measures such as using energy efficient light bulbs and switching off
office equipment such as computers when not in use.
For manufacturing and industrial sites, implementation of an Environmental Management System (EMS)
that follows the principles of the international environmental management standard ISO 14001 may be
in operation.
The key elements of an EMS, whether it follows ISO 14001 or not are:
- An environmental policy that sets environmental goals for the company;
- Auditing and reviewing the company s activities to look at areas for improvement and the applicable environmental legislation to the company;
- Setting targets and objectives that are realistic, in order to improve the company s environmental performance;
- Allocating environmental responsibilities throughout the company at all levels;
- Training all staff to the required level in order for them to have the necessary environmental knowledge appropriate to the tasks and activities they undertake;
- Reviewing environmental performance in order to see if the system is working successfully.
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