#0 180 14000 and Small Business Page | of 3 ISO 14000 and the Small Business It is nice to sce that the people working to develop international standards have learned a lesson from ISO 9000. As ISO 14000 - Environmental Management Standard - is being developed a separate guideline is available for the small busine ‘About 70% of the world's economy is fed by companies with fewer than 200 employees. This fact initially escaped the attention of the developers of ISO 9000. Today, registrar are scrambling to develop audit plan and fee structures specifically for these small businesses. The ISO 14000 developers are attacking the issue while the standard is still a committee draft, The actual standards and guidelines are expected to be issued in early 1996, Being Small The small business owner has a lot of issues and problems to confront in his daily life. Besides being CEO for the company, he is also involved in its ownership and several other tasks. Therefore, the idea of building an environmental management system seems like more time and money. In reality, it doesn't have to be either one. In today's economy, being "green" presents you with a distinct marketing advantage for your product. In addition, you are already faced with hundreds of regulations related to the environment, from health and safety issues to ecologicial impacts. Then there is the ever present need to cut internal costs. Add to that the social conscience some owners have and you quickly see the need for a single system (o address all of these problems. ‘The good news is the an environmental management system (EMS) does not have to be a separate entity. Instead, if you have already implements ISO 9000, you have your EMS just about, in place. Let's review the steps to creating an EMS and see how ISO 9000 creates many of the same requirements. Thus, you can fold EMS into your ISO 9000 implementation or existing quality management system to get the desired results. Implementing EMS There are several steps that lead to a cost efficient and effective EMS. 1, Management Commitment Iust like ISO 9000, you must seek and recieve complete commitment from the senior management of your company. An EMS is really just another good business practice that should be embraced by any well informed management team, 2. Initial Reva ew Once senior management is committed, then you must lead an initial review of your current management practices. Just like an ISO 9000 internal audit, you want to look at practices, training, record keeping, policies, work instructions, and other resources dedicated to meeting environmental needs. Of course, part of this initial review will be the preparation of alist of the environmental requirements of your company. You will have to dig through regulations, guidelines, and other documents. However, you can always call the appropriate agencies to help you out. In Michigan, the Department of Natural Resources assists businesses in determining which regulations apply. Also, voluntary groups, such as local environmental groups, might also be able to help. hitp://www.isogroup.iserv.net/14002.htm! 17/08/98"ISO 14000 and Small Business Page 2 of 3 3. Establish a Plan ‘Armed with the information on what you have to comply with and the general strengths and. weaknesses of your current management practices, you can now develop an action plan. In particular, you will want to quantify your requirements, such as decibles of noise allowed in the factory, discharge levels permitted, tons of trash needed disposal each year, scrap rates, and so ‘on. These quantified targets will also show management the opportunities to save money. For example, reducing waste means paying less to have it disposed. 4. aaluate the Environmental Aspects and Risks Also using your list of requirements, you now prioritize your particular situations. That is, you now have to list out the actual environmental aspects (impacts) of your company. To each of these identified aspects, you have to evaluate the level of risk involved with conformance and nonconformance. For example, too high a noise level in the factory invites complaints and lawsuits from the employees. Meeting the target level means fewer costs, but still some minor problems. Reduceing noise below mandated levels could mean higher productivity. The cost/benefit ratios have to be estimated as best as pos 5. Establish an Ei vironmental Policy Now the company's management can kick off the action plan by writing an environmental policy ‘You can't just write that you like a clean world with little waste. You have to be specific to your company. For example, set specific goals with measurable targets. This will give your employees and other interested parties the information they need to know what they have to do to help achieve these goals 6. Implementation For an environmental action plan, the first step in implementation is usually to clean up the obvious problems. These are the areas where you already know you are not complying with regulations or customer demands. After that, you should target areas where you stand to gain greater efficiencies. This includes scrap and waster reduction projects, recycling, and elimination of liabilities. After that, you can settle into a system of considering environmental impacts during all business decisions, especially those taken in the Design Control phase of ISO 9000. Sustained development and continuous improvement are the watch words. 7. Monitor for Improvement Opportunities Along with quality control plans, you may want to develop environmental control plans. These also outline the process of a particular product or service with critical points for verification identified. However, what is being verified is the environmental concem at critical points. For example, the use of a cuastic chemical to etch parts would be a point where worker exposure levels might be continually monitored. With such targets well established, teams can be formed to first meet the targets and then exceed them. ‘As with any management system, you will need to have adequate resources dedicated to the system. This includes people with the background, education, and experience to cope with environmental issues. Corrective action has to be very proactive and well structured, All corrective actions will have to be documented and reviewed by management. In addition, you will need to calibrate and maintain monitoring equipment. Also, internal audits are required to make sure the entire system is working properly. In short, many of the elements of ISO 9000 can be used in your EMS with very little http://www. isogroup iserv.net/14002.html 17/08/98©. {$0 14000 and Small Business Page 3 of 3, ‘modifications. In fact, the biggest step may be writing policy statements and control plans. Existing procedures and work instructions for ISO 9000 need to be slightly expanded to account for your environmental situations. Summary ‘A company without an EMS and with a poor environmental record is probably going to find doing business harder in the future. Already customers are not awarding contracts to questionable companies because they fear the bad publicity of an environmental scandal. In addition, banks tend to shy away from companies that may be doing environmental harm, They are also attracted to companies with well documented management systems. Therefore, the development of an EMS is highly recommended for most small businesses. To that end, we will continue to review the draft EMS standards being proposed by ISO. At the same time, you should not lose site to the fact that most industrialized nations already have EMS requirements of one form or another. Don't neglect to investigate these as well. is information fs provided by the National ISO 9000 Support Group. Fora ull information package send an email to OGROUP@CRIS.COM with your address and FAX number, lease fel fre to join the group to obtain more details on this and other clement ofthe standard, and to get addtional implementation support at low east. ast updated Nov. 1995. Copyright National ISO 9000 Support Group, 1995. cl Kc here to return to top of ISO 14000 materi hitp://www.isogroup.iserv.net/14002.htmL 17/08/98