Environmental management system (ems)

Ems refers to a system for managing an organisations environmental

programmes in a formal,comprehensive systematic, planned and
documented manner.
It embraces organisational structure, planning,and resources for
developing,implementing,and maintaining the policy for protection of
environment.
It includes_____
*commitment of top mgmt.
*written objectives for ems
*benefits of ems.
*relevant legal reqmts.
*documented or written procedures involving processes/procedures so
that those officers/employees who are involved in the ems follow the
standard procedures.
*assigning responsibilities to employees to ensure that everyone knows
who is to do what?
*environmental audit to know the environmental aspect and impacts of
companys activites and to have ems assessed and certified by an
independent certifier to demonstrate that system conforms to relevant
standards : i.e to obtain iso 14001.
Terms and definitions used in ems
*environment--- it means surrounding in which any organisation or living
system operates.it includes natural physical entities like air, water, land
and its resources ,human beings, plants(flora),animals (fauna),and their
interrelationships.
*environmental aspect---it means organisations activities services and
products which interact with the environment for eg packaging process of
a manufacturing unit is an environmental aspect.
*environmental impact--- a change in environment wholly or partially
resulting from an organisations activities services or products(aspect) is
referred to as environmental impact. Thus packaging is an aspect but the
wastes produced in the process is an impact.usually impacts are harmful,
sometimes impacts can be beneficial as for example conversation
programmes protect wildlife
Those responsible for ems ---must be able to identify both existing as well
as potential impacts. For identifying impacts, following environmental
aspects must be known

I)emissions (ii) effluent discharges (iii)consumption or reuse of material

(iv) noise
For example aspects for plying of vehicles include
(i)use of engine oil (ii) emissions to air the impact for (i) is used oil and its
disposal , the impact for (ii) is pollution of air and its control.
*environmental impact assessment(eia)
Eia refers to review of potential impact of a project to be launced by an
organisation . It includes
(i)assessment oif existing environmental status (ii)analysis of various
factors of ecoystem like trees, p0nds, wildlife.(iii)analysis of adverse
impacts of the project that is to be started. (iv) impact on people in the
neighbourhood.
*certification body --It is an independent organisation which verifies that a companys
ems,conforms to specific standard such as iso 14001. Such a body is
called certifier. If the system conforms to standard, the company will be
awarded certificate. It is always advisable to select a certification body
which has been accredited by govt.agency.

Why ems?
The most common motives for adopting a formal ems are
1)it is the statutory requirement and the firms want to avoid prosecution.a
manager today in any firm cannot afford to be unawareof increasing
complexities of environmental legislation.
(ii)in case of non-compliance not only the company has to pay penalities
but also would invite adverse publicity.of course it would depend how far a
company is committed concerned or even proactive in regard to
envrionmental issues.
(iii)there may be managers who would focus on legal requirements and
would show little interest in taking other initiatives which are very
important but may not be a legal requirement.
(iv)in developing countries, improved environmental performance is
becoming a popular theme for enhancing the image of the company.
(v)the demand of various stakeholders especially the key clients put
plressure for installing a formal ems. In a supply chain retailers face the
customers and their anger if the product is not upto their expectations in
terms of quality and the environmental issues. The retailers would pass

on the pressure to suppliers in the chain asking them to rectify or improve

concerns vis-a vis environment.
(vi)the service industry or financial services sector is also affected by
environmental issues and it is in its interest to be concerned by ems. It is
in interest of the supplier in the supply chain that they develop policies to
protect themselves from financial penalities thay may arise from
environmental damage or pollution and thus ensure good performance of
their investments.
Emas-----is european unions emas (eco management and audit systems)
emas was negotiated by the european commission with the industry,the
environmental groups and other stakeholders.
Emas requires that companies establish and implement ems and evaluate
it periodically and provide environmental informationto the public .emas is
voluntary though it is a eu regulation.
It encourages the companies for self-regulation and is a solution for
cleaner technology,adopting life cycle analysis(lca). Thus the companies
operate beyond compliance and laws undertake environmental impact
assessment(eia) and disclosetheir performance in the annual report.

Iso 14000 ---the basic principles-----------

1)iso 14000 series was approved by european commission .iso 14001 is

derived iso quality std 9000 but it is broader in scope than quality
standards because evnironmental issues are larger issues affecting the
nations and the worlds resources and living conditions.
2)it requires organisations to be concerned with everything from raw
materials to end product as it reaches the consumer and its final
disposal---a life cycle approach
3) iso 14001 is not a guarantee of excellence in environmental
performance but it is an assurance that organisation has an ems that
managees environmental issues.
Iso 14000 enables an organisations ems to
A)formulate and define p0licy and objectives in this regard
B)to formulate a plan to implement the policy and objectives
C)to develop the capabilities and support system to achieve the
implementation of policy objectives
D)to monitor and evaluate environmental performance

E)to review the ems for continued improvement

Five components of iso 14001 are

fig---

Eco-labelling
Ecolabel is an environmental claim that appears on the packaging of a
product. It is awarded to a manufacturer by an appropriate authority. Iso
14020 is a guide to the award of eco-labels.
The common man is now becoming aware of the deterioration of
environment especially when it relates to human health.there is growing
demand for goods and services that cause less damage both to the health
of human and environment.
The consumer in developing countries too is showing great interest and
concern on the environmental effects of products and services.this in turn
affects the purchasing behaviour.
In developed countries there is increasing concern about what is called
green purchasing which in final analysis leads to conservation of natural
resources and sustainable development.this concern has led the govts. To
formulate guidelines that regulate sales and trades.green shopping is now
becoming popular.
The govt. Of india launched an eco-marke scheme in 1991 to increase
consumer awareness in respect of environment friendly products.the aim
os the scheme are to encourage to purchase those products which have
less harmful environmental impact.
Ec-mark label is awarded to products which meet specified criteria and
quality requirements of indian standards.
The european eco-labelling scheme which is in operation has eco-labels
representing independently verified sign of environmental excellence and
encourage manufacturers to make environment friendly products. The ec0
label product has competitive advantage.
Eco-labelling can lead to
A)improvement of image and sales of products
B)manufacturers being more accountable to environmental imacts
C)consumer awareness that their choice of product do affect the
environment as some products are less damaging to environment than
others.
Criteria for eco-mark -------

The criteria for awarding eco-mark cover all the stages of the product
from raw material to manufacture and to final disp0sal.these criteria refer
to general and specific requirements for products;
The general requirements are
1)products to meet the relevant standards of bis
2)manufacturers to produce documentary evidence in regard to water and
air acts and other rules as reqd for if coming under fda.
3)the product to display the list of critical ingredients in descending order
of quantity present .
4)the packaging to display the criteria based on which the product has
been labelled environment friendly.
5)the material used for packaging to be recyclable/reusable/biodegradable
6)the product to be accompanied by detailed instructions for proper use.