What Is the EMS?

Having an EMS, or Environmental Management System, is one way in which an organization can assess and monitor its environmental impacts. An EMS is a set of documents developed by a company to outline procedures and guidelines for different aspects of the organization's day-to-day activities. Ideally, the entire staff will have some input in its development in order to ensure that all facets of the business are considered. As you probably know yourself, no one person in an organization cannot know the intricacies of every person's position.

Benefits

Foremost, an EMS helps an organization prevent negative environmental impacts. It forces a company to examine all parts of their business including storage, recycling and disposal of wastes. For you as an individual employee, it helps create a sense of environmental awareness you can then apply to your own lifestyle. It also helps bring about a sense of order. You know exactly what your job is and how to do it. For the organization, an EMS helps reduce costs and ensure compliance with the environmental regulations to which it is subject.

Components

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers guidelines for the development of an EMS. The EPA suggests following the Plan-Do-Check-Act model. Planning will probably be your organization's more important step. This step will lay the groundwork for the development of the EMS. Also built into the system is a means to evaluate how it is working with regular audits. This step looks at how procedures developed on paper translate into real life situations.

Ensuring Success

In order to get the most out of your organization's EMS, it must grow with the business. Therefore, there should be some degree of flexibility to allow for the growth of the company or new technology or regulations which may affect it. Think of an EMS as a work in progress. You and your co-workers can learn about the proper functioning of your business by striving for continued improvement. Finally, an EMS is most successful when it has the support and backing of the entire staff, including management.

Function

The EMS is based on International Organization for Standardization (ISO) guidelines ISO 14004:2004. These guidelines provide a general framework for developing an EMS, including a systematic approach to developing procedures. Using ISO standards gives a point of reference for organization so you have a point from which to begin.

Tips

Chances are there is a sample EMS for your type of organization. In the planning stages, consult the National Database on Environmental Management Systems to see if an EMS is available for you to use as a reference. Working with a complete EMS will help you consider the entire scope of the project to ensure nothing is neglected. Of course, every organization is different. Using the Plan-Do-Check-Act model and a sample EMS will give you the information you need to develop your organization's unique EMS.