If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will do!
August 1st 2005

ISO 14001 can be used to improve a company’s environmental performance as well as act as external proof of a company’s environmental commitment says Greg Davies, head of service development, ems he current vogue for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting, the recently introduced Operating and Financial Review (OFR), and the widespread interest the environment in general, has pushed these issues up the business agenda. Both of the former require senior management having to report on non-financial areas of the business operation for which the local community, employees, as well as the environment, are major topics.

Most companies have established informal systems covering some areas (typically energy, water, waste and recycling), usually through one or two enthusiastic individuals within the company. With the exception of recycling, the problems here can be, the environmental areas they are managing are the perceived ‘big issues’, usually based on cost to the business, and therefore not always the real ones. These initiatives being managed by specific departments, with no organisation wide commitment or direction.

ISO14001 Recently reviewed, the 1996 standard giving way to a 2004 edition, ISO14001 provides an accredited framework in which a company’s whole environmental performance can be assessed.

The methodology behind the standard is based on the plan–do–check–act (PDCA) process, but looks at continual environmental improvement around five initial areas: environmental policy; planning; implementation and operation; checking; and management review.

The standard does not establish absolute requirements for environmental performance (beyond its stated commitments) but does ensure the requirements put in place can be objectively audited.

In essence it requires you to look at what comes into your premises, what happens to it and then what leaves.

Each element being a possible environmental aspect that can then be ranked to determine which of them has, or can have, significant impact on the environment.

Although there is no single approach for identifying environmental aspects, typically they could include: • emissions to air; • releases to water; • releases to land; • use of raw materials and natural resources; • use of energy; • energy emitted, for example heat, radiation, vibration; • waste and by-products; and • physical attributes, for example size, shape, colour, appearance.

In addition to these the indirect aspects that could influence overall performance should also be considered, i.e. those goods and services supplied to your organisation or the products and services you provide.

Once ranked/scored a management plan for further action can be put together, based on the significance of each aspect. In turn objectives, targets and programmes can be introduced to manage these aspects and measured against your policy with a view to reducing the impacts these, and hence your organisation, has on the environment.

As the thinking behind the standard is continual improvement, initially you should look at the most significant and then target them for improvement/reduction. With increased management the significance of these should reduce, causing others to rise up your list to be targeted next.

The standard also covers commitment to the prevention of pollution, compliance with applicable legal requirements, and the introduction of training and awareness, as well as clearly identifying roles and responsibilities for your environmental management and the adequate provision of resource to make it happen.

The process by cutting across the business, provides a means of engaging the whole company in the development of your environmental management system and pursuit of the standard. Compliance with the standard is normally assessed through a third party auditor and, dependent on the size and scope of activity, normally takes between six and eighteen months to secure.

Once achieved, the benefit of ISO14001 is that it provides a joinedup, cohesive approach for your environmental management to an internationally recognised standard.

This in turn means your organisation’s stakeholders can readily identify the commitment you are making to the environment, which is good for the corporate image as well as the balance sheet.

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