Implementing an Environmental Management System - Essay Example

 Implementing an Environmental Management System In the 21st century environmental concerns have become an important business factor to consider. Society realized that business activity is one the primary factors that is depleting earth’s natural resources and contaminating our environment. Due to this reality companies need to implement environmental management systems (EMS). An EMS provides an environmental framework for organizations to improve their environmental performance by integrating environmental considerations into their business decisions and risk management criteria (Intelex, 2009). The stakeholders of corporations expect businesses to have an EMS. The purpose of this paper is to describe how to develop, integrate, and evaluate an EMS as well as discussing the challenges of completing this process. The process that is going to be described in this paper on how to create an EMS and implement the system is based on the recommended EPA processes and guidelines. The four-phase EMS implementation process has the following four steps: getting ready, plan, do, check & act (Peercenter, 2009). In the first phase of the process the manager has to recognize that each company has unique needs and the system must be tailored made to cover those needs. The objectives, challenges, and potential benefits must be established. The company also has to establish the reasons for implementing the EMS. The reasons may vary but include: improving public image, reduce environmental pollution, and business politics among others. During the first face the company has to select the activities or operations where the EMS will apply. The activities and operations selected have to be reasonable as far as the system being able to manage the tasks needed to achieve environmental improvements. The cost of opportunity cannot exceed the benefits achieved from implementing the system. The company has to create a new job position for an employee to be the official EMS representative that coordinates the efforts of the system. The EMS representative has to select a core team of employees for the project and he must also choose and implementation team. The first step of phase II is designing an environmental footprint which is basically the environmental aspects the EMS impacts. Reduced energy consumption and lower CO2 emissions are two examples of environmental aspects. The second step is to identify the hot spot areas of each aspect within the organization. The hot spots must meet the significant criteria the EMS core team established. The third step is to identify legal and other regulatory requirements. The EMS team must document the entire process in order to have the paperwork ready to comply with any environmental audits of the regulatory governing bodies. Environmental regulation varies depending on the country. Countries with developed economies tend to have stricter environmental regulations than developing countries. The final step of phase II is developing an environmental policy. The development of an environmental policy creates a baseline that can be used for continuous environmental improvements. During phase III of the implementation process the EMS representative has to establish the objectives and targets of the system. These objectives provide valuable input to then create specific environmental management programs. Each program must set timeframe parameters and quantitative metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Operational controls have to be in place to manage the hotspots. The employees have to know who is responsible for executing the task needed to make the system work. They also have to receive training on how the system works. All the controlling protocols and mechanism must be documented. Records have to kept of the action taken by the system in order to measure its effectiveness. The EMS has to set procedures on how the information the system generated is going be transmitted internally and externally. The final step of phase III is creating contingency plans so the company can be prepared for emergency situations. Phase IV of the EMS implementation process involves monitoring and measuring the performance of the system. The company has to ensure the corporation is complying with all pertinent environmental regulation. The system has to be calibrated as a mechanism to make adjustments and improve its performance. After calibrating the system corrective and preventive actions must be taken. The final two steps of phase IV are auditing the EMS and performing a management review. There are many challenges during this four phase implementation process. One of problematic areas is the environmental aspect identification process. Companies have to make sure that the EMS does not extend itself beyond its capabilities in order to limit its scope to cover the critical environmental concerns of the company. For example water scarcity is major problem worldwide, but a company that spends less than $300 on its water bill should not be concerned about improving this aspect of its operation too much. Another challenge of implementing an EMS is finding the funding to perform the improvements. Environmental initiative cost money and sometimes despite the potential benefits of an environmental program companies cannot afford to implement environmental changes. Time is another important consideration to considered. If an EMS initiative takes too long to implement a company might have to consider spending their resources in actions that can provide quicker results. Companies operating in today’s fast changing environment need to implement an EMS in order to manage its environmental practices in a more efficient and systematic manner. A four step process to create an EMS involves getting ready, planning, doing, and checking the results. Once an EMS is implemented a company can improve its performance and operate its business in a proactive instead of reactive manner as far as environmental matters. Based on the current business environment in America and the United Nations governments are going to be increasing their environmental regulation. Companies have to be prepared for the changes. The best strategy to comply with future environmental requirements is to implement an environmental management system. References Intelex.com (2009). Environmental Management System (EMS). Retrieved October 24, 2009 from http://www.intelex.com/Environmental_Management-150-1product.aspx Peercenter.net (2009). How do I implement an EMS? Retrieved October 24, 2009 from http://www.peercenter.net/about/How_do_I_Implement_EMS.cfm Read More