We went to our clients and asked them they why felt they needed and wanted an environmental management system (EMS). We also asked what benefits they had identified.
Every business we asked stated that they needed a management system so that they were able to manage their day to day operations more effectively. This was not always their main reason for starting but by the time they were half way through, all clients recognised that their businesses really benefited from having built their system.
Why they started was based on what they wanted and this was quite varied. Some of the businesses questioned wanted to demonstrate that they really were environmentally conscious in their business operations and they found that their EMS both did this and took this a significant stage further. Some wanted certification to help them access export markets. Others wanted a tool to build a culture of awareness and responsibility throughout their operation. Some wanted a marketing edge. Some were under pressure from regulators and/or community groups and felt that they want to clearly demonstrate their environmental commitment.
The benefits were real improvements to the bottom line coming from less errors and incidents; “a much more efficient business; a deep rooted benefit is a sense of awareness, commitment, and responsibility at all staff levels; creating a dynamic team with one common objective”; a much greater awareness of environmental risks, minimising the risks from changes in their operations; having contingency planning in place and practiced to cope better with disasters and extreme weather; an ability to demonstrate legal compliance; significant eco-efficiencies and improvement in waste management. There are many others.
Most of the benefits came when they moved beyond just an environmental management plan or a code of practice and built a system with feedback.
Many of the businesses fully integrated all their requirements including their occupational health and safety, quality, traceability and food safety so that they built one simple system that covered all of these.
The secret to having a management system that works for the business is to keep it simple. Keep good records while avoiding unnecessary paper.
