The environmental policy is produced as a result of the findings of the environmental review and represents an important step in the formation of an EMS. It is therefore an important document and should be communicated to all personnel. The communication channels which have been set up to implement the EMS can be used to disseminate the environmental policy. The Management Representative should advise the ESG of the need to inform all personnel; emphasising that it is awareness that needs to be raised, and that the policy needs to put into the context of the EMS programme.

Senior managers may decide to use a variety of methods to communicate the policy depending on the groups they need to inform:

• give everybody background="/envENVMAN5/course/images/back/back.jpg a copy
• publish it in a newsletter
• produce it as posters and pin them up on an environmental notice boards throughout the site
• send it to everyone on the internal e-mail system

Some companies produce an annual environmental report which contains the policy document. This is not necessary unless the company is aiming for registration to EMAS or maintaining its registration, in which case it has to produce an environmental statement detailing its environmental performance.