Cost of implementing a formal Environmental Management System

The chart shows the cost of establishing a formal EMS and obtaining accreditation incurred by 11 eleven companies of different sizes. The cost is accounted in terms of days spent. All companies have particular circumstances and so it is impossible to accurately predict the cost for any individual company to undertake this exercise but the chart may be a useful guide. The financial benefits arising from ISO14001 or EMAS are also difficult to predict but so far most companies have either found it necessary for survival, in which case the cost/benefit relationship is obvious, or have found that savings have meant that the payback period is around a year.

Task 6: Look at the electricity and gas bills from your work or from your home. If each unit or kWh (kiloWatt hour) of electricity generated in the UK releases 0.73 kg of carbon dioxide and each kWh of gas will typically release 0.27 kg of carbon dioxide when burned estimate the total carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each year by your household or company