To many businesses, an environmental management system or EMS is not a mere process of keeping their business in compliance with the environmental regulations. Some businesses tend to use this system as a method of improving the organization; some companies use it as a medium of communicating with their employees and the external world. No matter what is the purpose of using the EMS, by taking it seriously, the businesses can receive a number of tangible benefits. In this blog, I am going to tell you how Environmental Management Systems can bless your business in multiple ways. Let’s dive into a detailed discussion.
Benefits of Environmental Management System
- Reduces Waste
Regardless of the size, every business, from startups to the larger firms, is able to minimise the quantity of waste on a regular basis. You might be thinking how this can be possible. Let me explain. ISO 14001 provides a framework having some requirements. This standard intends to make sure that a compliant organisation is generating less waste that may have a bad impact on the environment. When your organisation is producing less waste, then it is obvious that the transportation cost for the wastes will be reduced as well.
Here pops up a question- how should you reduce the waste? Well, it will entirely depend on your business set up. Requirements of every business are different from the rest. Even the types of waste may vary from one organisation to another. Hence, it is obvious that the strategy of reducing the waste will vary from one business to another. ISO 14001 Standard does not specify any ways of reducing the waste. An organisation is free to employ suitable methods to meet this requirement.
- Makes Maximum use of Resources
Maximising the use of your resources is aligned with the waste reduction. When you will be able to receive more than one use out of your raw materials, you will be able to reap multiple benefits, such as-
- Enhancement of Efficiency
It is always better to order one raw material instead of a bunch. It will save the time spent on the procurement process and minimize the delivery costs and the requirement of a large storage space. It is no doubt going to contribute to the overall performance of your business management system.
- Availed New Opportunities
Whenever you will start to look at your resources from a different perspective, you will be able to find more new opportunities.
- Eliminates and Mitigates Environmental Risks
Environmental risks may differ from one industry to another. If you want to use your EMS for this purpose, you need to identify the environmental risks of your business through a two-folded process.
- In the first step, you should figure out the activities of your businesses, which have an impact on the surrounding.
- In the second step, you should identify the level of impact the figured out activities have on the environment. When you are going through this step, you must consider the severity and longevity of the environmental impacts. Most of the ISO 14001 certified companies follow these steps to use their Environmental Management Systems for mitigating the risk factors.
It would be better to replace your raw materials with biodegradable alternatives to reduce the severity and longevity of the environmental impacts of your business.
- Enhances the Sustainability
Currently, do you rely on natural resources? Let me give you an example. Imagine that you are into manufacturing business and you own a fleet of cars run by petroleum. Can you switch to hybrids? Your admin team may come up with a printed copy of every document sent by email. In this digital age, we all know that paperless systems are far more beneficial. Depending on the water and power requirements of your business, you can think of a water tank or a solar panel at your business premises. It will not only help you save money but also reduce the environmental impacts. Since reduced environmental impact is one of the main requirements of an EMS, this particular point will help you comply with the standard as well.
Apart from these, EMS improves the brand image, increases your credibility, helps you save money, and ensure the overall performance of your business.