ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

The Issues

Environmental management was once thought to be apart from mainstream business concerns, and often considered solely in an adversarial context (such as regulatory negotiation and minimum compliance maintenance).

Environmental management is now being considered as a necessary strategic business element, critical to the success of any major corporation.

The Implications

Environmental Management Systems (EMS) are the processes of formulating, implementing and evaluating business decisions to enable an organization to be environmentally sound while remaining competitive in the global marketplace. It is an approach that many companies are finding valuable in addressing their environmental issues.

EMS includes the implementation of innovative management systems, including Life-Cycle Assessment, Total Quality Management, full-cost environmental accounting, risk assessment and risk management, internal auditing, employee awareness and training, and community outreach. In this way, not only will regulatory compliance be ensured, but competitive advantages can also be realized.

Specific services include:

• evaluation of the performance of current environmental management systems
• assistance with developing or reviewing a corporate environmental strategy and objectives
• development of performance standards to meet the environmental objectives
• developing programs to meet the standards
• implementation of EMS programs based on auditing performance
• measurement of the results through a customized corporate audit program
• development and implementation of programs for the continuous improvement against the standards

How Green-Tech Can Help

Green-Tech is working with its clients to develop environmental management systems to help them remain environmentally sound and globally competitive.

Typical EMS benefits include:

• an increased competitive advantage
• overall cost reduction, both short term and long term
• increased employee productivity, more time spent planning proactively and less time spent responding to crisis management
• revenue/asset enhancement, improved public profile and improved investor confidence
• full environmental integration throughout all business units
• a reduced environmental "foot print"

When developing an EMS program, it is important to remember that the involvement of all corporate personnel is critical to its success. Areas of a corporation that would typically be involved in a comprehensive EMS program include accounting/financing, real estate, marketing, research and development, engineering, manufacturing and purchasing.