Once significant environmental aspects are determined, an organization sets objectives and targets. An objective is an overall environmental goal e. A target is a detailed, quantified requirement that arises from the objectives e. The final part of the planning stage is devising an action plan for meeting the targets. This includes designating responsibilities, establishing a schedule, and outlining clearly defined steps to meet the targets.
Implementation - A organization follows through with the action plan using the necessary resources human, financial, etc. An important component is employee training and awareness for all employees including interns, contractors, etc. Other steps in the implementation stage include documentation, following operating procedures, and setting up internal and external communication lines. Evaluation - A company monitors its operations to evaluate whether objectives and targets are being met. If not, the company takes corrective action.
Review - Top management reviews the results of the evaluation to see if the EMS is working. Management determines whether the original environmental policy is consistent with the organization's values. The plan is then revised to optimize the effectiveness of the EMS.
The review stage creates a loop of continuous improvement for a company. Skip to main content. Related Topics: Environmental Management Systems. You can check for areas of national environmental significance with the Protected Matters Search Tool.
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On this page Benefits for business 1. Get an environmental audit 2. Set up an environmental management system 3.
Report on your impacts 4. Check government requirements 5. Find environmental grants and awards. Benefits for business. Environmental management not only benefits the environment, it can also be good for business through: cost savings — by spending less on raw materials, energy, water and waste management business reputation — people may be more likely to support a business that cares about its impact on the environment resource recovery — reusing and recycling resources can be profitable work health and safety — reducing chemical use and waste materials can improve workplace health and safety legal compliance — your business must meet certain environmental protection laws.
Get an environmental audit. This will enable you to: identify how you could reduce your impact prioritise environmental management activities demonstrate your accountability to government, customers and shareholders. You can use this initial audit as a benchmark to compare regular ongoing audits against. Set up an environmental management system. Your EMS should: identify the environmental impact of your business set your environmental objectives and targets provide your operational and emergency procedures for environmental issues outline responsibilities and your reporting structure identify areas for ongoing improvement.
Report on your impacts. Common environmental reports made by businesses include: greenhouse gas and energy reporting corporate sustainability or triple bottom line reporting natural resource management monitoring. In the following chapter the different phases and their components are assessed more carefully. Strategic Tactical Operational Environmental management systems EMS Setting ethical framework Definition of key impact areas Design for disassembly Commitment to Setting of specific environmental Technological solutions sustainable development objectives and targets e.
The understanding has to come from within the firm and initially concerns top-level management. The understanding creates a framework not only for the environmental policy, but also for the whole EMS. It also lays the framework for what the company's ethics are. The environmental policy states the overall scope, vision, and aim of the EMS. We position both the creation of understanding and the environmental policies on the strategic level, as both can described as all-encompassing, general frameworks for the whole management system.
We further stated that concepts are deployed strategies, as well as assumptions about possible future possible impacts and occurrences. As said the tactical dimension further specifies the strategies, as they attach and define responsibilities and actions in order to achieve the all-encompassing goals and targets set on the strategic level.
Positioning the methods and tools on either the tactical level or operational level proved more difficult. Some of the policies, such as EIA or waste management as a concept , include elements both on a tactical and operational level.
But there are also more clean-cut concepts that can be positioned on the tactical level, these include the setting of more detailed environmental quantifiable targets and objectives, definition of which environmental areas are prioritised, the supervision of the overall environmental policy, and the allocation of environmental responsibilities within the firm. We have sub-divided the tools on the operational level into technological solutions, process tools, and information tools. Technological solutions include e.
In practice, BAT involves the use of proven technologies and production methods in order to prevent or minimise emissions to the environment.
But it should also be emphasised that in this embedment, technological tools should not be perceived as seamless solutions for diminishing or eradicating environmental impacts of business activities. Rather, they are often convenient methods to reduce, but not to eliminate environmental problems on a short-term perspective.
The information tools can be divided into information targeted for internal or external use. An instrument for external information is the adoption of environmental labelling eco-labelling. Another form of labelling is compulsory content labelling that is required by the firm on a legal basis. It can have an environmental dimension if e.
The compulsory labelling is aimed at authorities, but also indirectly at the consumer. The publication of corporate environmental reports is another tool for external communication. KOLK defines environmental reports as "publicly available publications in which a firm gives an account of its environmental or environmentally related activities and results in a specified period of time".
Information tools aimed more for internal use are e. One of the reoccurring problems for companies when trying to implement an EMS is identifying and prioritising the most important projects and the parts of the production process with the heaviest environmental impact.
LCA is a systematic process of evaluation of the environmental effects of a product, process or activity. The LCA aims to identify and quantify the energy and materials used, and to assess the impact of energy and material usage, as well as identifying opportunities for environmental improvements. Environmental cost accounting is another form of information tool that is used for internal purposes.
Examples of process tools are the concepts of design for disassembly, i. The training of staff can also be considered a process tool. In order to achieve this we aimed to answer the following questions: How can the decision-making sequence be described in environmental management? Can such a sequential model be constructed for the decision- making process? We concluded that the process of environmental management decision-making could be set on a strategic, tactical and operational level.
These hierarchical planning levels are assigned according to the intentional time horizon, or to the level of internal organisational hierarchy. The conclusion being that there is an existing time frame in the EMS decision-making process. Further, we concluded that the environmental management decision-making is not only hierarchical following planning levels, but the planning itself follows a framework of time.
It starts on the highest level of hierarchy, the strategic planning-level, which is then further sub- divided into tactical and operational levels respectively. To position some policies, concepts and tools proved more difficult, as some of them could not be positioned clearly in one or the other of the levels.
This became especially apparent for some concepts, such as waste management and EIA, which both include a conceptual or tactical element, but also characteristics of tools on the operational level. There is also a fundamental question of what an EMS in fact is; it does in theory cover all levels.
But one of the main problems with EMS is that its strength lies in its strategic approach. So, it does cover the tactical and operational levels, but the strength of the concept definitely lies on a strategic level. It is then up to the individual company and its management to decide on and implement the specific tools, in order to achieve the goals and objectives set in the environmental strategy.
One area that would need further research is the question of financial incentives for an EMS. What are the financial-economic incentives to implement the chosen concepts, methods and tools, if any? The common assumption today remains that an EMS is implemented because environmental legislation forces companies to cut their emissions and minimize their environmental impact.
Another area for further research could be the technological solutions on the operational level. However, technological tools are in the danger of being perceived as seamless solutions for diminishing or eradicating environmental impacts of business activities.
They are often convenient methods to reduce, but not to eliminate environmental problems on a short-term perspective. So, the question is how to integrate technological fixes can further be embedded into the long-term environmental strategies, and how environmental strategies and policies have to develop in order to shift the aim from trying to fix a environmental problem to eradicating it.
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