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Environmental Management Systems: Environmental With Other Benefits
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Integrating an Environmental Management System (EMS) into your business gives you a structured framework for managing its significant environmental impacts. Other than improved environmental performance an EMS can provide a business with many other benefits too.
Improved health, safety and quality management are likely to result from implementing an EMS because of the plan, do, check and act process of seeking continual improvement one goes through and the similarity with health, safety and quality systems (see image above and links below).
General management and efficiency improvements cut waste of resources, save energy and improve transport logistics, with consequent financial savings and optimisation of time use.
A formal system ensures better compliance with the law, is backed up by regulators and cuts uncertainties – all of which cuts risks and so cuts insurance costs.
An EMS demonstrates organisational commitment and enables good relationships with stakeholders to be built, strengthened and maintained. This is good for the activities of the organisation as a whole eg in general relationships with the public, local authorities and the media, when seeking additional business, seeking funds, attracting staff.
See: Environment Agency, What makes an effective Environmental Management System, http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/144678.aspx
Also see: IEMA, EMS Explained – 'the basics', http://www.iema.net/ems/emsexplained .
