The Western Australian Business and the Environment Manual

Environmental management programs and systems (EMP & EMS)

Definition

EMP - Various - see below.

EMS - An environmental management system is a structured system designed to help business reduce their impact on the environment through targeted continuous improvements in environmental management.

Summary

One of the best ways to ensure a good standard of environmental management is via the establishment of a structured program for managing identified issues. Two such management approaches include:

Environmental management programs (EMPs)

EMP is used to describe three principal tools for managing environmental issues:

As a regulatory requirement, the term is often used interchangeably with the term environmental management plans. The purpose of the EMP is to collate information on impact management and mitigation measures proposed in documentation submitted as part of the project approval process and on monitoring that will be undertaken to confirm impact predictions.

As an informal term, EMP - often used interchangeably with the term environmental management plans - describes the way a business intends to manage aspects of its activities with the potential to cause impacts on the environment. Such EMPs are often submitted in draft as part of tender documents to demonstrate good environmental performance and are finalised on award of contract.

As a formal requirement of ISO 14001 environmental management systems. Refer to the section on ISO 14001 environmental management systems.

Environmental management systems (EMSs)

Environmental management systems (EMSs) are the most far-reaching of the management approaches available to business. EMSs provide organisations with a structured means of managing any areas of their operations or activities that have potential implications for the environment.

An EMS is a process to enable an organisation to consistently manage its activities so as to minimise its environmental impacts. The success of a system is strongly related to the behaviour of the people within a particular organisation. Some of the key elements of a management system are, therefore, related to the definition of roles, responsibilities and authorities, training and communication.

EMSs differ from EMPs in that they are a living system with mechanisms to:

• keep information on environmental aspects and impacts and legal obligations up to date;
• keep existing staff updated on any changes to management practices and inform new staff of their environmental management responsibilities;
• regularly monitor the effectiveness of the system at controlling the significant environmental impacts of the organisation;
• identify deficiencies in the system and develop and implement actions to mitigate any impacts resulting from the deficiency and/or prevent the deficiency from arising again; and
• review external influences on the organisation (e.g. new development adjacent to site boundary) and adjust management measures accordingly.

Regardless of whether a business looks at managing its environmental issues to a formal EMS standard such as ISO 14001 or not, in order for EMSs to be worthwhile they should all aim to achieve certain outcomes as a minimum. These should include:

• the identification and prioritisation of issues to be managed (e.g. environmental aspects and impacts and environmental legal obligations);
• a commitment to trying to control and reduce the effect of identified impacts on the environment;
• a means for 'measuring' the environmental performance of the organisation so that the effectiveness of the system at controlling the environmental impacts of the organisation can be assessed and corrective measures put in place if necessary; and
• means of communicating environmental issues and responsibilities with personnel at all levels throughout the organisation.

An EMS should also include means of reviewing the implementation, adequacy and effectiveness of the system. This would normally occur via an audit program, periodic reviews by management and via the reporting and review of non-conformances with stated company procedure.

Legislation, licences, standards

AS/NZS ISO 14001 - Environmental Management Systems -

Specification with guidance for use.

AS/NZS ISO 14004 - Environmental Management Systems - General guidelines

on principles, systems and supporting techniques.

Quick tips

Since EMPs required under conditions of approval are a legal requirement, the conditions within the EMP must be met.

The implementation of an EMS requires the support of senior management within an organisation in terms of understanding the resource commitment that may be required. This is likely to include the cost of assigning an individual(s) to assess the environmental performance of the organisation, and costs that may be associated with investment in technologies and/or developing procedures for handling identified issues. However, in many cases there are large cost savings to be realised from the implementation of such programs in terms of waste and energy reductions.

Help and more info

To obtain documents relating to EMP or EMS development, contact Standards Australia

Go to more detailed information on EMP / EMS

"Business and the Environment" is a joint venture between the Chamber of Commerce & Industry Western Australia and Environment Australia