Envr 231

Notes test 2

Module 5
 Before establishing policy
-leadership or management must prepare for the implementation of the management
system (whether environmentally or sustainably focused)
-as discussed in previous readings, top management or leadership must be supportive
and onboard with the decision to implement a management system and move towards
formal certification
-the top person in charge (president, CEO etc.) ultimately is responsible for
system
-they ensure the resources (namely personnel) are available to manage details
-it first requires identifying those individuals who will be able to lead and guide the
process of implementation, Management Representative (MR)
-under new 2015 standard this role is implied but not identified as MR
-the management representative is normally tasked with the implementation process
(which includes guiding the organization with the certification of the standard) and
keeping top management or leadership informed
 What must leadership and MR consider?
-what environmental legislative and regulatory requirements (or under 2015 edition,
“compliance obligations”) must the organization adhere to?
-what is the current state of the organization’s environmental performance and what
changes/enhancements are needed?
-how can or will the organization's operations be impacted? What changes may/will
occur?
-how will the organizations be affected financially? What funding is needed or will be
needed?
-who will be responsible for the new roles and responsibilities that are likely to arise?
 The importance of roles
-the organizations top leader ultimately champions the system, but management
representative must be empowered to carry out the leg work
-why is this important?
1. The management system will only be as strong as its weakest link
2. Leaders (and subsequently their appointees) must set the tone for the rest
of the organization
3. If top management is not committed to the purpose of the system AND they do
not put the right individuals in place to carry out the system, the EMS or SMS will
fail or be ineffective on a larger scale
 Moving towards the policy
-top leadership and the MR will need to identify and establish a committee to work
towards the policy and next steps of the implementation
-typically this committee is called a cross functional team (CFT) the terminology may be
different across different organizations
-using preliminary info, all of these individuals will then establish a policy that follows the
guidelines of the ISO 14001 standard (commitment to legal requirements, pollution
prevention and continual improvement) and meets the general performance the
organization wants to achieve
 Prepare implementation plan
-road map for the next steps in implementing the system
 -begin to identify and discuss the detailed actions for completing ISO 14001
requirements
-establish desired goals such as if the organization should be formally certified or not
-the implementation does not have to be in depth and fully complete, but should provide
directions for CFT
-for many of CFT members, a SMS and ISO 14001 standard (as well as entire
implementation process) may be new to them, so this plan gives them the full picture
strategy
-can touch on budgets, funding, resources, roles and responsibilities and goals on a
basic scale, more in depth actions will be addressed later in implementation process
-will be covered more next week

Module 6: importance of leadership

 US army strategy into the 21st century
-model upon which sustainability is structured:
-pinnacle(top goal): army mission
-support: environmental stewardship
-pillars: compliance, restoration, prevention, conservation
-base: leadership
-sub base: people, resources, communication, management, organization
-foundation: shared values
-model is essentially a house that leader build
 Why is leadership important?
-organizations are motivated by many different factors:
-profits, customer base, stakeholders, regulations, public opinion, mission, 
competition, needs
-but whatever the factors or motives, leaders (from the top down) are responsible for the
deliverables
-leadership craftsmanship is at every part of the structure
-leaders oversee mission operations
-determine how environmental concerns intertwine with mission requirements
-provide guidance on stewardship requirements
-oversee the operations
-help shape the culture
-if leadership is not committed to addressing environmental issues sustainably 
(which may include an EMS) any further efforts will not be productive

Module 7: design for sustainability (planning)

 ISO 14001 standard planning phase
 Environmental aspects
-process for identifying environmental aspects and determining which are significant and
require additional management or controls
-aspect (cause): elements of activities, products and services that can interact 
with the environment (ex. Air emissions, hazardous waste)
-impact (effect): changes to the environment (either negative or positive, 
inclusive or partial) that are the result of environmental aspects
-consider what can be controlled and/or influenced
-develop criteria to determine significance (use of a cross functional team CFT, with
diverse expertise and interests)
-frequency/likelihood of impacts
-impact severity to the environment and missions (constraints)
 -regulatory and community concerns
-under the new 2015 edition the environmental aspects guidelines fall under new
elements or categories (gives more detail)
-requirements are mostly the same
 Legal and other requirements
-identify legal and other requirements applicable to aspects and other environmental
concerns
-ex) federal regulations, state laws, DoD and army policies, installation 
memorandums
-aspects cannot be properly managed if critical info and resources are missing
-identification of legal and other requirements sets the foundation for management
programs and/or operational control of aspects
-2015 edition under different guideline (compliance obligations), falling under a new
category, but info mostly the same as 2004
 Objects, targets and programs
-creation of documented environmental objectives (goals) and targets (metrics) at
relevant functions and levels within the organization 
-should support the overall policy and take into elements pertinent to the system
-significant aspects
-legal and other requirements
-technological options
-financial/operational/business requirements
-views of interested parties
-must be measurable and able to designate responsibility
-establish programs to manage the objectives and targets 
-may be new or already existent
-2015 edition under different guideline (environmental objectives and planning to achieve
them), but mostly the same
 General planning process
-while the ISO 24001 standard outlines elements in a particular order, in real application
the steps may vary from organization to organization
-the planning process technically starts when leadership and cross functional team
(CFT) initiates the self assessment and begins to identify the priorities of the
organization and the needs that must be met
-the processes outlined in this presentation are measures that have been successful for
some organizations
-if following the ISO 14001 standard some processes may look familiar in different
organizations but there is no right or wrong way to proceed
-as is always stressed, there are certain requirements that must be met for ISO 14001
certification but an organization will implement and manage its system in a manner that
is feasible to them
 Before jumping back into aspects…
-the CFT must have a complete and thorough understanding of the organization
-requires identifying the focus of the organization (and in the case of our mock military
installation, the focus of the mission)
-this is addressed when developing the policy but it is also important when identifying
environmental goals for the organization
-what should be considered?
-current actions performed to maintain readiness and to accomplish day to day 
operations
-prioritization of future goals for the organization (possible 2-5 years out)
 -possible prioritization of larger scale issues in the future (10+ years out)
-real or perceived environmental roadblocks
-environmental or sustainability initiatives (identified by the organization and/or 
a larger parental entity)
-these considerations help to determine where resources (esp funding and manpower
will be allocated)
-helps to prepare for new or changing environmental concerns, if new operations are
undertaken or leadership decides to change the focus of the organization, new
considerations must be made for environmental aspects and impacts
-avoid any surprises or setbacks that may impact the operations of the organization
-operative word: proactive- preparation is key
 Know what (and who) you are working with
-prepare an inventory of all the internal groups (departments, units etc) that perform
work 
-be knowledgeable of all people who visit and/or perform work in the organization (tenant
groups, third party contractors, vendors, support services etc)
-these entities ultimately contribute to the environmental conditions within organizations
-as decisions are made to make modifications within the organization, some of these
groups or individuals will be tasked with making changes (whether voluntary or not)
-identification of these groups will be key for understanding processes and gathering
additional info to ultimately determine environmental aspects and impacts for org