LESSON 2

INTRODUCTION TO EMS

TOPICS
1. Definition
2. Why an Organization needs an EMS?
3. EMS Goals
4. EMS Principles
5. EMS Benefits
6. EMS Framework and Main Steps
-PDCA Cycle

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. Explain the need for formulating an EMS;
2. Identify and expound the goals, principles and benefits of EMS; and
3. Illustrate EMS framework and its relationship with PDCA Cycle.

TOPIC 1: DEFINITION

An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a framework that helps an

organization achieve its environmental goals through consistent review, evaluation, and
improvement of its environmental performance. The assumption is that this consistent
review and evaluation will identify opportunities for improving and implementing the
environmental performance of the organization. The EMS itself does not dictate a level
of environmental performance that must be achieved; each organization’s EMS is
tailored to the its own individual objectives and targets.
An EMS is a systematic approach for incorporating energy and environmental goals
and priorities (such as energy use and regulatory compliance) into routine operations.

An EMS is a voluntary management tool, which aims at the improvement of an

organization’s environmental performance through an integrated and systematic
approach to dealing with environmental issues.

TOPIC 2: WHY AN ORGANIZATION NEEDS AN EMS?

An EMS helps an organization address its regulatory demands in a systematic

and cost-effective manner. This proactive approach can help reduce the risk of non-
compliance and improve health and safety practices for employees and the public. An

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EMS can also help address non-regulated issues, such as energy conservation, and can
promote stronger operational control and employee stewardship.
An environmental management system helps organizations identify, manage,
monitor and control their environmental issues in a “holistic” manner.
There are many reasons why an organization should take a strategic approach to
improving its environmental performance. Users of the standard have reported that ISO
14001 helps:

 Demonstrate compliance with current and future statutory and regulatory

requirements
 Increase leadership involvement and engagement of employees
 Improve company reputation and the confidence of stakeholders through
strategic communication
 Achieve strategic business aims by incorporating environmental issues into
business management
 Provide a competitive and financial advantage through improved efficiencies and
reduced costs
 Encourage better environmental performance of suppliers by integrating them
into the organization’s business systems.

TOPIC 3: EMS GOALS

Environmental management goals are quite specific. Examples of EMS goals may
include:

 To increase compliance;
 To reduce waste;
 To improve the quality and availability of solid waste services;
 To increase awareness and transparency;
 To reduce environmental and health risks related to waste management;
 To utilize the economic potential of the sector;
 To eliminate or reduce the occurrence of algal blooms;
 To improve livestock health and productivity;
 To minimize the occurrence of fish kills; and
 To increase biodiversity and ecosystem health.

Compliance is the act of reaching and maintaining minimal legal standards. By not
being compliant, companies may face fines, government intervention, or may not be
able to operate. Waste reduction goes beyond compliance to reduce environmental
impact.
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 TOPIC 4: EMS PRINCIPLES

There are some guiding principles of environmental management. These principles

are helpful in environmental decision making.

1. Polluter Pays Principle (PPP)

Many economists have suggested that firms discharging polluting

effluents to the environment should somehow be made to pay a price for such
discharges related to the amount of environmental damage caused.

OECD has suggested the Polluter Pays principles (PPP) as a general basis
for the environmental policy. It states that if measures are adopted to reduce
pollution, the costs should be borne by the polluters. According to the OECD
Council, “The principle to be used for allocating costs of pollution prevention and
control measures to encourage rational use of scarce environmental resources
and to avoid distortions in international trade and investment is the so-called
Polluter Pays Principle.” The essential concern of this principle is that polluters
should bear the costs of abatement without subsidy.

2. The User Pays Principle (UPP)

It is considered as a part of the PPP. The principle states that all resource
users should pay for the full long-run marginal cost of the use of a resource and
related services, including any associated treatment costs. It is applied when
resources are being used and consumed.

3. The Precautionary Principle (PP)

The main objective of the precautionary principle is to ensure that a

substance or activity posing a threat to the environment is prevented from
adversely affecting the environment, even if there is no conclusive scientific
proof of linking that particular substance or activity to environmental damage.
The words ‘substance’ and ‘activity’ are the result of human intervention.

4. Principle of Effectiveness and Efficiency

It is essential that efficiency of resources use may also be accomplished

by the use of policy instruments that create incentive to minimize wasteful use.
It also applies to various issues of environmental governance by streaming
processes and procedures in order to minimize environmental costs.

5. The Principle of Responsibility

It is the responsibility of all persons, corporations and states to maintain

the ecological processes. Further, access to environmental resources carries
attendant responsibilities to use them in an ecological sustainable economically
efficient and socially fair manner.

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 6. The Principle of Participation

It is the duty of all persons to participate in collectively environmental

decision making activities. Some participation areas are related to the use of
trees and other plants, minerals, soils, fish and wildlife for purposes such as
materials and food as well as for consumptive and non-consumptive recreation.
The second issue concerns solid waste i.e. garbage, construction and demolition
materials and chemically hazardous waste etc. The third issue of participation is
related to pollution generating activities.

7. The Principle of Proportionality

The principle of proportionality is based on the concept of balance. A

balance is to maintain between the economic development on the one hand and
environmental protection on the other hand. It cannot be disputed that no
development is possible without some adverse effects on ecology. Therefore, it
is essential to adjust the interest of the people as well as the necessity to
maintain the environment. Moreover, comparative hardships have to be
balanced and benefits to a larger section of the people have to be maintained.
(https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/economics/environmental-economics/
environmental-management-7-basic-principles-of-environmental-
management/39722)

TOPIC 5: EMS BENEFITS

Multiple studies have been performed to examine the benefits of the EMS
approach. The evidence indicates that the systems approach to managing
environmental issues that is fundamental to an EMS causes a deep, cultural shift in how
the organization addresses these issues. Every employee must incorporate
environmental considerations into their daily job functions. Thus the documented
benefits of implementing an EMS range from improved compliance with environmental
regulations (and often a reduction in fines) to increased management efficiency, and
even a reduction in waste production and energy consumption. The systematic EMS
approach to the daily management of energy and environmental objectives leads to
benefits that can only be created by an integrated effort across the entire organization,
and are typically difficult to foresee prior to the implementation of the EMS.

The following are potential benefits of EMS:

 Improved environmental performance
 Enhanced compliance
 Pollution prevention
 Resource conservation
 New customers/markets
 Increased efficiency/reduced costs
 Enhanced employee morale
 Enhanced image with public, regulators, lenders, investors
 Employee awareness of environmental issues and responsibilities

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 TOPIC 6: EMS FRAMEWORK AND MAIN STEPS – PDCA CYCLE

EMS is a structured framework for managing an organization’s significant

environmental impacts.

An EMS encourages an organization to continuously improve its environmental

performance. The organization first commits to an environmental policy, then uses its
policy as a basis for establishing a plan, which sets objectives and targets for improving
environmental performance. The next step is implementation. After that, the
organization evaluates its environmental performance to see whether the objectives
and targets are being met. If targets are not being met, corrective action is taken. The
results of this evaluation are then reviewed by the top management to see if the EMS is
working. Management revisits the environment policy and sets new targets in a revised
plan. The company then implements the revised plan. The cycle repeats, and continues
improvement occurs.
The most commonly used framework for an EMS is the one developed by the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for the ISO 14001 standard.
Established in 1996, this framework is the official international standard for an EMS
which is based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology. The five main stages of an EMS,
as defined by the ISO 14001 standard are described below:

https://www.iso.org/standard/60857.html

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 1. Commitment and Policy – Top management commits to environmental
improvement and establishes the organization’s policy. The policy is the foundation of
the EMS.
2. Planning – An organization first identifies environmental aspects of its operations.
An organization then determines which aspects are significant by choosing criteria
considered most important by the organization.
3. Implementation – An organization follows through with the action plan using
necessary resources (human, financial, etc.).
4. Evaluation – A company monitors its operations to evaluate whether targets are
being met. If not, the company takes corrective action.
5. Review – Top management reviews the results of the evaluation to see if the EMS
is working. Management determines whether the original environmental policy is
consistent with the organization’s values. The plan is then revised to optimize the
effectiveness of the EMS. The review stage creates a loop of continuous improvement
for a company.

PDCA Cycle
The US EPA defines an EMS as “a set
[or system] of processes and practices that
enable an organization to reduce its
environmental impacts and increase its
operating efficiency.” This focus on
processes and practices is common to all
EMSs, which are generally founded on the
“Plan, Do Check, Feedback” cycle of
continuous improvement.

The “Plan, Do, Check, Act” (or

Feedback) Cycle was originally illustrated by
Walter Shewhart for the continuous

improvement of product quality, and https://www.iso.org/standard/60857.html

[most notably] implemented by W.
Edwards Deming in post-WWII Japan.

All EMS models are based on a “Plan, Do, Check, Act (Feedback)” cycle that is
primarily concerned with the process an organization uses to incorporate environmental
concerns into routine operations and not the operations themselves.