ISO 14001 is continuously growing in the importance for companies of all sizes and industries. Many companies need to deal with their products, services, employee safety, and environmental impact. Over the years, the companies have admitted a bundle of benefits of ISO 14001 standard including-
• Reduced environmental impact
• Reduced wastage
• Improved sustainability preservation
• Enhanced brand image
• Recognition in the domestic and international market
• Reduced expenses
• Compliance with the relevant regulations and legal obligations
The main requirement of this standard is the implementation of Environmental Management Systems or EMS successfully. What’s this EMS? How does it influence the market? What’s the structure of an ISO certified EMS? How to implement it? How to ensure its efficiency? So many questions are now floating around your mind, right? Let me help you find answers. In this blog, I am going to discuss five major facts about an EMS that you can’t miss!!!
1. What is EMS?
Over the years, it has been founded that many organisations are looking for a way to keep their environmental program in control while the continual improvement of the running operation has also been a prime concern. EMS is a set of programs, documentation, and a plan for continual improvement. This system is designed with an aim of benchmarking the environmental impact of an organisation.
You may find various types of systems out there. If gaining ISO 14001 certification is your end goal, then you must plan the EMS keeping in the mind the guidelines and requirements of the latest version of ISO 14001 Standard.
2. How does an EMS Influence the Growing Market?
Do you know that putting an ISO-certified EMS in an active business management system can influence your business? This is a good business idea because it ensures that all the constituents of an organisation such as consumers, stakeholders, suppliers, and auditors are working as per the ISO guidelines. When your consumers and the third parties are well aware of the fact that your organisation maintains an effective EMS, immediately a positive image of your organisation will be developed in their mind. As an outcome, you will be able to expand your business and escalate the scale of your business profit.
3. What is the Standard Structure of an EMS?
Before implementing the EMS, you must learn about its structure. ISO 14001 Standard has prescribed the Plan-Act-Do-Check (PDCA) model for developing the EMS. The entire system should be structured on this model.
I. Plan- First, it is important to build a perfect plan for the implementation of Environmental Management Systems. Your plan must be compatible with the ISO standard.
II. Act- In this phase, you should execute the plan you have made. It would be better if you hire experts for this act. It will minimize the chances of failure.
III. Do- Success of an EMS depends on the implementation process to some extents. Therefore, make sure that the implementation of your EMS is on expert hands.
IV. Check- After the implementation, you should keep checking the EMS on a regular basis. It will enable you to track the performance of your EMS and ensure the continual improvement.
4. How to Implement EMS in your Existing Management System?
You need to integrate the EMS into the decision-making process of your organisation so that you can improve the program management and the environmental performance of your organisation. Since the EMS should be implemented into the central management system, there are fewer requirements for external interfaces. The core operation is expected to take the environmental ownership.
5. How to Ensure the Efficiency of an EMS?
For increasing the efficiency of your EMS, you may follow a couple of tips, such as:
• Before making the plan, analyze your business- find out the business objectives, outcomes, the dynamics of the relationship between productivity and environmental impacts
• Identify the sources from where the environmental impact is originated
• Consider how to address the detected sources without affecting the productivity
• Keep monitoring the EMS even after gaining the ISO 14001 certification
Well, these are a few things that you should consider prior to making a plan for the EMS.
As now you know everything about the five important aspects of an EMS, you are good to go!