10 Components of an Environmental Management System

Just as you manage other facets of your company, you must manage your facility to confront the impact that chemistry has on the personnel in the plant and the surrounding community. Environmental management systems (EMS) are designed to address the life cycles of the products made and materials used

The key factor is developing an EMS with the proper perspective. Smaller businesses do not require the intricate systems and documentation that are prevalent in larger firms.

An effective EMS will be developed to best use the resources available, and not create paperwork for the sake of creating paperwork. In other words, more sophisticated certifications may not be appropriate for a family firm where every member wears more than one hat. The importance of the EMS is the ability of the system to provide managers with adequate information to control and improve pollution.

With an EMS, documentation tracks the activity and materials through a process to assure that procedures and standards are upheld. In the case of the environment, this means the evaluation of incoming, in-process, and finished materials and wastes, and the processes through which they flow. The objective is to eliminate, at every stage, sources that could contribute to impacts on workers, the community, and the ecology.

Big and Little

Consider putting a system into a small family-owned firm that has only two basic files-paid bills and unpaid bills. Think about how complex one would want to make a system, or conversely, how simple a system should be to encourage small businesses to participate. This is the challenge in developing an EMS.

A large firm may have the capacity to assign staff members or hire an environmental manager. The availability of personnel and resources can allow for a more concentrated and comprehensive program.

The basic components of an EMS are:

1. Permits in compliance with the law

2. Policies and procedures for compliance with company objective

3. Audits for compliance with the law and company objectives

4. Audits for process improvement (pollution prevention)

5. Reports and records for compliance

6. Reports and records for pollution prevention

7. Assessments for mid- and long-range planning

8. Correspondence for various areas of activities by regulation

9. Training programs and records

10. Plans to confront emergencies and accidental releases to the environment

Just how well a company is doing will be addressed by the audits. One component of the audit will be a paper search, which reviews files to assure that all activities are permitted, proper records are kept, and problems are handled in the system.

A second phase is the physical inspection, including interviews of personnel to assure that the facility and staff are properly organized, trained, and operating in accordance with mandates.

The third phase involves the identification and rectification of any condition that is not in compliance.

The fourth phase subjects the current operation to analysis to find a way that uses less hazardous chemistry, replaces hazardous chemicals with safer products, or eliminates the use of chemicals completely.

Taking the proactive approach can result in many benefits. Enforcement by the government is measured in dollars collected in penalties. That is above and beyond the cost of being in compliance. The EMS will remove that threat.