Why Businesses Need a Strong Environmental Management System

This article explains the most crucial reasons that compel businesses today to establish a strong and standardized Environmental Management System (EMS) and certify it with ISO 14001. 

 

The present situation of increasing environmental crises such as global warming, undesirable climate change, air quality deterioration, heavy rain, landslides, etc. is making everyone more aware of their environmental responsibilities. While businesses are the first agents to directly impact the environment through their rigorous business activities, they need a strong management approach to diminish their environmental effects. The ISO 14001 certification standardizes the Environmental Management System (EMS) and hence it is said to be the best tool that businesses can deploy to reduce their impacts. Implementing a standardized management system also has several purposes that help businesses to demonstrate their environmental responsibility and attain competitive advantage.

An EMS works as a proper centralized system where you can keep datasets of your business regarding the use of natural resources, waste treatment, emissions to the air, fuel and electricity use, and other related information. It also helps to record and keep track of the different environmental permits and other obligations that are to be met. The EMS helps to remind you of the deadlines to meet the obligations or what the permissible limits of any actions are. Therefore, you can easily control any non-conformity or exceeding of a permit limit. This reduces your overall compliance risks.

 

With the implementation of an EMS, you are able to do an extensive investigation of various processes of your business to identify their environmental impacts. You can gain a better understanding of the impacts and decide what changes in the processes can prevent them. This way you are able to improve the processes of your business by fully understanding the processes and enhancing their efficiency. 

You are able to identify the environmental risks or impacts immediately when there is a specific management system in place. It enables you to oversee the processes or areas in the business that can create risks and impacts. Therefore, you can identify the potential risks and impacts and take actions to prevent/alleviate them. 

An EMS also compiles vast data regarding various environmental aspects such as air emissions, wastes inventory, electricity, and fuel consumption, etc. It hence helps you to maintain your threshold limits for every aspect and prevent any noncompliance. 

The EMS helps to conduct audits and inspections of your various environmental measures and practices. It also provides you with specific tools for audits or inspections. From compliance audits to quality checks, risk assessments to waste treatment inspections, it can help with any type of environmental assessment. Subsequently, you are able to spot your environmental issues, find their root cause, and take action to prevent them from recurring. 

This is one of the main reasons to establish the EMS in your business. When it helps to identify the impacts, you can introduce more efficient methods in your business to reduce them. Some of them are less use of fuel, reuse or recycling of materials, reduction of waste, and less consumption of electricity or energy. All these have a direct positive influence on your business costs. You can save money through each of these methods which eventually will accumulate to huge cost savings for your business, especially in the long run. 

 

These reasons explain why implementing a standard EMS is needed by businesses today. Apart from reducing the environmental footprint and saving costs, it also creates environmental awareness in the organization. When you establish an EMS which is also accredited with the ISO 14001 certification, the stakeholders, including the employees, become aware of their environmental responsibilities too. This helps you to further improve the environmental performance of your organization. Also, a recognized EMS displays the environmental accountability of your organization in the industry supply chain. This makes your business more reputed as a supplier and gives you more opportunities for sales. Hence, the EMS also indirectly contributes to increasing your bottom line. 

 

Damon Anderson is the owner of a decade-long established ISO consultancy that provides an extensive range of assurance services to businesses including audits to prepare them for ISO certifications. He is also specialized in the ISO 14001 certification and hence likes to share his knowledge and experience of his forte, i.e., EMS implementation, through articles and blogs.

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