Tips For A Successful Environmental Management System

Reading a wordy and complicated thick guide on

, say, lowering water consumption by one million gallons daily or applying a process to lessen the quantity of paint sludge in several company-owned factories, can easily get in the way of work. Work that prevents a firm from, well, working is clearly not cost-effective and thus inefficient. However, businesses that inescapably affect the environment in their day-to-day operations simply can't quit enforcing an environmental management system (EMS) because it's difficult to draft and hard to understand.

Simple, understandable, and positive. This is how the University of Queensland wanted their EMS. In a case study reported by the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, the country's first university to get an environmental management system certification relayed that their wish to achieve an effective EMS wasn't borne out of mere obligation, but stemmed out of the university's own wish to use all resources efficiently and enhance and protect campus environment through sustainable practices.

This began with staff efforts at paper recycling, which eventually resulted in organization of an actual environmental program they called Unigreen. Afterwards, the University of Queensland pushed for an ISO 14001 accreditation as a means of setting a good example for their suppliers and contractors, which they wanted to be licensed as well.

The University of Queensland has some 50 sites spread out over greater than 334,000 square metres, with lakes, gardens, roads, sewage treatment plants, an incinerator and a number of the facilities relevant to the university's daily operation. Suffice it to say having a staff of 5,000 and a student population of 28,000, the coverage of their EMS wasn't likely to be simple as it had to incorporate a wide range of activities.

But with the tenacity of the people assigned to apply the school's EMS and keep it simple, comprehensible, and constructive, the University of Queensland was able to create a system that was easily understood but still on target in relation to their environmental targets. Even now, the university makes added revisions to its ISO 14001 certified EMS and sets new goals annually in order to save costs and make use of more efficient procedures.

Every business, whether it's a college, a car manufacturer, or a construction company, may have a simple, easy to understand, and positive EMS without having to spend months composing it. A good EMS may also be achieved without hiring costly consultants who'll very likely charge thousands.

A reliable, professionally produced ISO 14001-compliant and simple EMS template can be acquired through a reliable online supplier of EMS templates. This relieves any company from needing to draw up a cumbersome and complex EMS manual. There lies the first key to an effective environmental management system. The rest will be up to the commitment of the company's top management and the determination of its personnel to apply it.

by: Janelle Elizabeth

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