Chapter 6 - Environmental management Systems 2 Flashcards
What is EMAS
The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme is an environmental management scheme based on EU-Regulation
its a regulation - so a must
The first step of the implementation process of a EMAS is environmental reviews, what must organisations do?
identify env. aspects of their manufacturing process, activities or services and create a criteria to asses the significance of those aspects, it has to be comprehensive and it must be possible to verify them independently - it will have to show the aspects they identfify and the results to the stakeholders.
initial comprehensive analysis of the organization’s activities, products and services and their environmental impact;
This is a bit of a review but what is part of a env. policy and a env. program and the checking the operations
env. policy had to include the commitments to comply with legal regulations, preventing pollution, and improving env. performance
env. program is often in the table form, that covers the env. objectives for the direct and indirect aspects, the specific measurable targets to achieve objectives, actions, responsibilities and means and timeframe for each target. whos responsible, current state, final result we want, frequency of monitoring etc.
checking the operations includes rolled responsibilities and communication as well as documentation and monitoring and measuring, evaluation of legal compliance, corrective and preventive actions, control of records
the Environmental management system, but it also includes the internal audit/management review, what must organisations do?
EMS system will be defined later in more detail
the management review is then when top management meets annually to review the effectiveness, if they have complied legally, if there are complaints, if objectives and targets have been met.
Environmental statement, what is that?
This is unique to EMAS. It is for the public, that affirms(states publicly) the firms commitment to taking action for the environment, for the firm its a good opportunity to state what it is doing to improve the environment.
Verification and validation procedure, what is that?
Verification is made by an env. verifier to demonstrate whether the organisations review, policy, EMS, and internal audit and its implementation fulfil the requirements of this regulation
Validation is the confirmation of the environmental verifier that did the verification that the info and data of the organizations env. statement and updated statements are reliable, and correct and meet the requirements of the regulation
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Registration, what is that?
once everything has been done and verified, they can apply to the competent body for registration
Why is EMAS the premium environmental management tool ?
It adds elements on top of ISO 14001, its a more credible and robust environmental management tool
whats the relationship between ISO and EMAS
ISO requirements are integral part of EMAS, but EMAS takes into account additional elements to support organisations that
In the implementation process, what are parts that are unique to EMAS?
The first, 3,4,5 part. So environmental review, environmental statement, verification and validation, registration
In legal status, the difference of EMAS and ISO?
EMAS is an EU Regulation, ISO is an International, commercial standard under private law
Is EMAS Globally Applicable?
yes
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What’s the difference between EMAS and ISO in terms of the focus and objective?
EMAS is the improvement of the env. performance of the organization
ISO is the improvement of the Env. Management System
For EMAS how do environmental verifiers exist?
Environmental verifiers are accredited/licensed and supervised by governmental bodies, and the independence of environmental verifiers is required
Is the internal audit part of the implementation process for EMAS, a report that is prepared that is then given to the top management in the management review section?
yes
What is ISO 14031
gives guidance on the design and use of environmental performance evaluation, and on identification and selection of environmental performance indicators, for use by all organizations, regardless of type, size, location and complexity
Environmental Performance Evaluation (EPE) provides a robust and repeatable process to compare past and present environmental performance using KPIs. It helps organizations determine trends, evaluate risk and identify its strategic objectives and targets.
Why is there a family of 14000, so 14001, etc.
to promote effective EMS in organizations, The standards seek to provide cost-effective tools that make use of best practices for organizing and applying information about environmental management.
What are IMS (integrated management systems)?
it summarizes methods and instruments for compliance from different fields, so if you want in quality apply ISO 9001, if you want a management system for the environment then use ISO 14001
What is the Goal of ISO 14001?
encourage the systematic imporvement of environmental management system, and sets the criteria for a EMS
How can you get ISO 14001 certified?
through an independent agent like a organization or specific facilities
what does ISO specify on rather something else?
Focuses on management processes rather than specific environmental
outcomes (not setting performance standards)
what does ISO specify on rather something else?
Focuses on management processes rather than specific environmental
outcomes (not setting performance standards)
5 effects of ISO (from book real life thing)
lower costs,
increased competitiveness,
market share growth,
higher profits,
and regulatory compliance
difference of EMAS and ISO in public disclosure topic?
EMAS requires that the environmental policy and programs be made public,
whereas ISO 14001 only
requires that the firm’s makes a environmental policy , its not required to be public
whats the three options companies have when they want to certify
certify their EMS with independant agent
self-declare their adherance to ISo
pick and choose what elements of ISO they like
in iso, can some parts of the organization be certified
yes, only manufacturing or anything else can be the only part that is certified
first step of iso
first: find out all “environmental aspects” so where the firm interacts with the envronment, and inventory it all, so record it
six steps of iso
six steps: pinpoint env. aspects
make policy
plan how to do it
implement and operate
check if its good
review with management
then on top of those steps how does emas also do stuff
after all that,
the firm has to make a public statement,
then it has to be verified/validated
and then officially registered
three things a GOOD EMS will do (simple)
find out how to reduce env. impacts
reduce cost
increase productivity/efficiency
why would costs be lowered by of a GOOD EMS
resource reduction
process intensification
improved waste management
why is the existance of a EMS beneficial in the logn run
awareness of current science, current technology adapt thoughout the years to make small changes but in the long run
what about companies that just comply with regulations and have no EMS
they make radical changes if regulations radically change
so why is EMS better for companies regulation compliance
have system in place that can adapt continually, and more willing to do extra effort, compared to no EMS companies bc no EMS avoid harsh imposed regulations
why does it matter when big companies like ford or general motors announce all their suppliers will be ISO certified
all suppliers have no choice other than to be certified if they want to sell with these big companies as well
how much does a ISO certiication cost at a big. small insutrial site
big 200k
small 10k
why build legitimacy and a good reputation
its a competitive advantage, and usign ISO builds trust, bc its about continous imprvmenet
why is ISO good in the long term
economic and institutional benefits, avoiding damaging impacts on env. , its about coming clean
why is coming clean for firms in bad industries good(like mining, chemicals)
they know about institutional pressures to be good.
shareholders and customers may pull back support bc of their env.impacts
iso can deflect neg. scrutiny
how does ISO ease globalization
if customers are global they also want iso like eu requires iso so brazil and china get iso to comply with demands of their eu customers “environmental passport” big global countries are more prone to iso than tiny countries that trade domestically
how do pressures influence the rate for iso adaption?
once a threshold fraction of the industry all are iso certified, then many more will follow because of conformity and want to avoid negative consequences
are there verifiers in iso?
yeah auditors are accredited by a national accredititation body, like canada has accredited 60 verifiers (e Canadian Environmental Auditing Association has certified over 60 environmental
auditors)
are all registrars/verifiers of the same quality
no they differ in quality and authenticity, so it could compromise the credibility of the iso standard
could a firms environmental performance worsen while still being iso certified?
yes completely because it doesnt care about the performance, its not clear that the standard has any effect on the performance of the companies in actuality
critisism of iso (performance)
it dictaretes requirements for management processes and not environmental performance
body shop
was iso certified, got a lot of criticism bc they seem to environmentally friendly, but their paper trail was faulty, so there is higher scrutiny from outside because it looked like you are better environmentally than others. iso certified companies are expected to have a more complete paper trail of their impacts
what are some pressures that managers should take into account when deciding if iso is worth it or not
if their company is in an industry where everyone cares about the environment, if their industry is subject to a lot of regulation, if my industry is a target for political action, if iso will make us more social legitimate (if our industry care about that) like haircut industry doesn’t care about that
6 general simple steps of how an EMAS is implemented
environmental review- which is where the company interacts with the environment
a EMS is implemented like the iso one
the system is checked with internal audits and a top management review
the company publishes a environemtnal stated
the EMS and statement is verified and validated by an accredite or licensed EMAS verifier
then it is registered
what is a way to describe the environmental review (first step of emas)
how the firms activites products relate to the env.aspects and hence env. impacts
difference between direct and indirect environmental impacts
direct is what the company has infleunce over
indirect is anything that has to do with a third party
aspect example vs impact
waste water -> water pollution
carbon emission of trucks ->GHG effect
whats in a env. policy normally
comply with legal requirements
preventing pollution
bettering their env. performance
after the review and the policy and the programme, the company should hire someone, what is their role?
Their role is to make sure that all the environmental
management system requirements are in place, working and up-to-date, as well as to keep the general
management team informed about how the system is working. They should report on its strengths and weaknesses, and on improvements needed.
3 things to do to actually complete the things that were specified in the program (this is called implementation and operation)
hire people for the new responsibilties, document and control, and make people communicate to each other
is risk managemetn also a part of the implementation process(the doing)
yes you make emergency plans, and preventive measures
whats in the environmental statement?
their policy, their aspects and impacts,their programme,their implementation (EMS) really as much as they want, they also have to include basic performance indicators like energy consonsumptoin, material consumption, water, waste and emission nnumbers
whats the difference between verification and validation
verification is if you did everything correctly, validation is that all the info itself is truthful
does more environmental sanctioning(making literring a crime) useful ?
yeah a lot fo companies will reduce its environmental pollution- the threat of being a criminal make sense
is just getting to court (sanctioning more effective than the actual conviction)?
yeah bc of the media attentioin. the fine is not that important but just getting to the court part
why does making crimes against the environment legally enforceable work?
the public tells the police/state about how companies did their waste wrong,
