An Environmental Management System is one of the most efficient ways to reduce an organisation’s environmental impact and is increasingly sought after by stakeholders and environmental bodies. All organisations can benefit from implementing an Environmental Management System (EMS), regardless of size, geography, industry, or stage of their environmental journey.
Keep reading to find out what an environmental management system is, and how it can benefit your organisation.
An environmental management system is a framework designed to help organisations monitor, control, and continuously improve their environmental performance. Organisations can utilise the framework as an organising principle to structure their environmental strategy.
Environmental Management Systems (EMS) can be used to reduce an organisation’s environmental impacts and improve operating efficiencies while demonstrating to stakeholders and interested parties that real action is being taken.
An EMS is geared to help organisations identify, manage, monitor, and control their environmental performance in a holistic manner. For instance, risk assessments will be undertaken to help identify the context of your environmental impact. Controls will then be put in place to help manage these risks, and strategies designed to reduce them.
By implementing an EMS, an organisation will consider all environmental issues that are relevant to its operations. This includes but is not limited to, resource use, energy and water consumption, waste generation, carbon emissions, and effective local biodiversity.
Figure 1: Elements considered when implementing an Environmental Management System
ISO 14001 is the most recognised standard within environmental management and the most widely used in the world, with over 420,000 ISO14001 certifications issued each year.
The standard is published by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), an international body that creates and distributes standards that are accepted worldwide. It provides a solid framework for implementing an environmental management system, rather than establishing environmental performance requirements. It is beneficial to follow the framework of this standard when implementing an EMS, even if you do not wish to certify.
The ISO14001 certification encourages the use of the Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) methodology; an iterative cycle tasked with achieving continuous improvement in an organisation’s environmental performance.
Figure 2: Plan Do Check Act Continuous Cycle
The PDCA methodology is a four-step process geared toward carrying out desired change, with the key focus being on continuous improvement. Adhering to this methodology will guide your organisation through the strategies it looks to implement.
Your organisation will look to recognise and plan an environmental action. The action will be guided by the number of assessments you have undertaken into your environmental impact and any opportunities that you may have identified for improvement.
After agreeing on your plan, you will carry out the planned action. It could be beneficial to start off small-scale and in a controlled environment to account for any unpredicted barriers.
You will then review and analyse the performance of the planned action(s) and identify what you have learned from the process.
Finally, you should act based on what you have learned in the previous steps. If your initial plan was not effective, you can go through the PDCA cycle again and adjust your plan and actions. If your plan was successful, you should start looking to incorporate what you have learned from the test into larger organisational changes.
You will use what you learned to plan new improvements and begin the cycle again. It is a circle with no end and should be systematically repeated to ensure continuous improvement in your environmental performance.
The systematic approach and framework at the foundation of an Environmental Management System can benefit any organisation looking to mitigate its impact. An EMS can be beneficial to organisations of all sizes, geographies, or industries, and is applicable regardless of what stage you are at in your environmental journey.
For instance, for an organisation just starting out, an EMS may provide the framework and the foundation for you to begin analysing and understanding your organisation’s impact. This will then allow you to put in place a plan to take the necessary actions to improve your environmental performance.
Equally, it may be relevant to mature environmental organisations looking for guidance on what steps they can take. For instance, your organisation may have several different work streams that all have an environmental focus, but these have not been conjoined in a complimentary manner. Additionally, an organisation may be looking to receive third-party verification for the work they have already been doing.
First and foremost, implementing an Environmental Management System will help an organisation take the necessary steps to control environmental risks and strive for continual improvement. Ensuring necessary controls are implemented and gaining third-party auditing will demonstrate that compliance with current and future statutory requirements has been met. If implemented effectively, it can place environmental concerns as a key value within your organisation, which will increase leadership and employee involvement with your sustainability journey.
Implementing an Environmental Management System can help to improve your organisation’s reputation and the confidence of stakeholders. By receiving certification from the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), your key stakeholders will know that you are accredited to a high level. This shows that you are taking your organisation’s environmental impact seriously.
The thorough processes involved in implementing an Environmental Management System can provide a competitive and financial advantage. An EMS assesses how your organisation uses resources and identifies ways to reduce elements like waste, ensuring more efficient use of resources.
Throughout the process, opportunities will arise to minimise unnecessary consumption, resulting in a reduction in costs. For instance, improving how you consume energy will lead to reduced spending on electricity or gas.
Environmental action is now a core value that employees are looking to share with their employers. Employees are increasingly looking for organisations to deliver on sustainability commitments, which can often be a deciding factor for potential employees choosing an organisation to work for.
Showcasing that your organisation cares for people and the planet increases the likelihood of diversifying and improving the skill set of your company by hiring like-minded people.
Research shows that organisations that have dedicated sustainability goals enhance employees’ fulfilment and motivation because it gives more meaning to what they do. More importantly, having a strong sustainable agenda shows employees that your organisation puts the environment and people before profit, showing genuine care and value for employees.
Circularity and Environmental Stewardship are one of the topics reviewed in B Corp’s updated draft standards, which are undergoing a consultation process from September 2022 – December 2023. These requirements may change throughout the process but one of the proposed requirements for this topic is that companies will need to have an environmental strategy, promoting circularity and environmental stewardship. This can be supported by an environmental management system as it will help to structure activities such as identifying opportunities, outlining the organisation’s most significant impacts, and tracking objectives.
For example, companies that have their own manufacturing sites will need to have a formal environmental management system in place, comprising their energy and water consumption, quality of discharged wastewater, air pollution, waste generation/recycling, and other relevant environmental aspects. This will also need to cover an environmental policy, environmental KPIs, targets, and a program with allocated resources. This can be demonstrated in several ways including having an ISO14001-certified EMS. These companies will have to engage outsourced manufacturing sites to also implement an EMS and circularity principles into their organisations.
An environmental management system can benefit any organisation by providing the framework to allow meaningful and long-lasting changes to be made. By implementing a system of continuous improvement, your company will have the opportunity to consistently raise environmental standards and policies and make a positive impact on people and the planet.
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