Saturday, April 28, 2012

The Secrets To A Good Environmental Management System

By Yola Maverick


Reading a wordy and complex thick guide on, say, reducing water consumption by one million gallons daily or employing a process to reduce the amount of paint sludge in a number of company-owned factories, can readily get in the way of work. Work that prevents a company from, well, working is obviously not cost-effective and so inefficient. However, companies that inescapably affect the environment with their day-to-day operations simply can't give up enforcing an environmental management system (EMS) because it's cumbersome to write 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 obtain an environmental management system certification relayed that their desire to achieve an effective EMS wasn't borne from mere obligation, but instead stemmed from the university's own wish to use all resources efficiently and enhance and protect campus environment through sustainable practices.

This started with staff efforts at paper recycling, which eventually ended in organization of an actual environmental strategy they called Unigreen. At a later date, the University of Queensland pushed for an ISO 14001 certification as a method of setting a good example for their suppliers and contractors, which they wanted to be licensed also.

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

But with the perseverance of those tasked to execute the school's EMS and keep it straightforward, clear, and positive, the University of Queensland was able to develop a system which was easily comprehended but still on target in their environmental targets. Even now, the university makes further advancements to its ISO 14001 certified EMS and sets new objectives every year in order to save costs and use more effective procedures.

Every business, whether it's a school, a car manufacturing facility, or a construction company, can have a simple, clear, and positive EMS without having to spend several months composing it. A clear EMS can also be accomplished without having to hire expensive consultants who'll very likely charge thousands of dollars.

A dependable, expertly prepared ISO 14001-compliant and straightforward EMS template can be found through a dependable Internet provider of EMS templates. This relieves any business from needing to create a difficult and complicated EMS manual. There lies the initial secret to a successful environmental management system. The rest will be up to the determination of the company's top management and the commitment of its workers to enforce it.




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