SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING

MODULE 3
EMS
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
SYSTEMS (EMS)
• Population explosion, rapid industrial growth –
depletion of natural resources- unsustainable
conditions
• Environmental management came as a response to
the increasing seriousness of the human impact on
our environment.
• Impacts are controlled – applying a systematic
approach.
• EMS – Tool that enables an organization to control
impact of its activities, products or services on the
natural environment.”
• It is implemented in an organization to make its
products and operations eco- friendly
Framework of EMS

• Basic framework follows a PDCA cycle

• Plan-Do-Check-Act
• PLAN - Planning, identifying environmental aspects
and establishing goals in accordance with the
organizations environmental policy
• DO - Implement the planned processes which
includes training and operational controls
• CHECK - Checking (monitoring) and corrective
actions
• ACT - Includes progress reviews and actions to
make needed changes to improve performance
Advantages
• Serves as a tool to provide a systematic way of managing
an organization‟s environmental affairs.
• Focuses on continual improvement of the system.
• Restrict and regulate overexploitation of natural
resources.
• Set targets to reduce the use of energy and water and
waste going to landfill.
• Set environment friendly purchasing procedures.
Environmental Management Standards

• EMS cannot be implemented in a random manner.

• Requires regular and robust verification to ensure its
operation effectively.
• A set of standards are required.
ISO 14000 series
• ISO 14000 is defined as a series of international environmental
management standards, guides, and technical reports.
• The standards specify requirements for establishing
an environmental management policy, determining
environmental impacts of products or services, planning
environmental objectives, implementing programs to meet
objectives, and conducting corrective action and management
review.
• The primary objective of the ISO 14000 series of
standards is to promote effective environmental
management systems in organizations. The standards
seek to provide cost-effective tools that make use of
best practices for organizing and applying
information about environmental management
• With different organizational approaches to
environmental management, comparisons of systems and
collaboration had proved difficult.
• The ISO 14000 family was developed in response to a
recognized industry need for standardization.
• ISO 14000 standards and practices can be applied to any
organization, regardless of size or industry.
• ISO 14001:2015 is the most popular standard of the ISO
14000 family, which also includes other standards.
• ISO 14004:2016 - Environmental Management Systems - General Guidelines On Implementation

• ISO 14006:2011 - Environmental Management Systems - Guidelines For Incorporating Ecodesign

• ISO 14015:2001 - Environmental Management - Environmental Assessment Of Sites And Organizations

(EASO)

• ISO 14020:2000 - Environmental Labels And Declarations - General Principles

• ISO 14031:2013 - Environmental Management - Environmental Performance Evaluation - Guidelines

• ISO 14040:2006 - Environmental Management - Life Cycle Assessment - Principles And Framework

• ISO 14050:2009 - Environmental Management - Vocabulary

• ISO 14063:2006 - Environmental Management - Environmental Communication - Guidelines And

Examples

• ISO 14064:2006 - Greenhouse Gases Standards

• ISO 19011:2018 - Guidelines For Auditing Management Systems

ISO 14001

• ISO 14001 defines criteria for an EMS.

• It does not state requirements for environmental
performance but rather maps out a framework that a
company or organization can follow to set up an effective
EMS.
• It can be used by any organization that wants to improve
resource efficiency, reduce waste, and reduce costs.
• Main aim to assist companies in continually improving
their environmental performance and complying with
any applicable legislation.
• The organization sets its own targets and performance
measures, and the standard highlights what an
organization needs to do to meet those goals, and to
monitor and measure the situation.
• The standard does not focus on measures and goals of
environmental performance, but of the organization.
• The standard can be applied to a variety of levels in
the business, from the organizational level down to
the product and service level.
• 1996 1st Edition
• 2004 2nd Edition
• 2015 3rd Edition
ISO 14001:2015

• All standards are periodically reviewed by ISO to ensure

they still meet market requirements.
• The current version is ISO 14001:2015
• The new version of ISO 14001 focuses on the
improvement of environmental performance rather than
the improvement of the management system itself.
• By completing ISO 14001 certification your
organisation can assure stakeholders that your
environmental management system meets
international industry specific environmental
standards.
• At the highest level, ISO 14001:2015 covers the
following topics with regard to environmental
management systems:
• Context of the organization
• Leadership
• Planning
• Support
• Operation
• Performance evaluation
• Improvement
Advantages
Organizations and companies find that using the standard helps them:
• Improve resource efficiency
• Reduce waste
• Drive down costs
• Provide assurance that environmental impact is being measured
• Gain competitive advantage in supply chain design
• Increase new business opportunities
• Meet legal obligations
• Increase stakeholder and customer trust
• Manage environmental obligations with consistency
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)

• Life cycle analysis or life cycle assessment is a

methodology for assessing environmental
impacts associated with all the stages of the life-
cycle of a commercial product, process, or service.
• In the case of a manufactured product, environmental
impacts are assessed from raw material extraction
and processing (cradle), through the product's
manufacture, distribution and use, to the recycling or
final disposal (grave)
• Cradle-to-grave analysis.
• LCA assesses cumulative potential environmental
impacts.
• The aim is to document and improve the overall
environmental profile of the product.
• Procedures for conducting LCAs are included in the
ISO 14000 series, in particular, in ISO 14040 and
ISO 14044.
• A Life Cycle Assessment Consists Of 4 Steps:
▫ Definition of Goal and Scope
▫ Inventory Analysis
▫ Impact Assessment
▫ Interpretation
Phase 1: Goal and Scope
• In the first phase of Life Cycle Assessment, we define
what exactly we want to analyze – and how deep we want
to go with our analysis.
• Defining our goal and scope serves three very important
functions:
1. What will we be assessing?
2. What system will we be assessing in?
3. What Will We Not Be Assessing?
1. What will we be assessing?

• Will it be a product? If so, how much of the product

will we be assessing?
2. What system will we be assessing in?

• This defines our product life cycle, as well as the

implications we will be analyzing. Also, we have to
decide which Impact Categories we want to focus
our assessment on.
3.What Will We Not Be Assessing?

• The value chain can go very deep.

• However, a certain depth might not be interesting for
our analysis. We might, for example, decide, that we
will not analyze the details of pre-forms of our raw
materials in-depth.
Phase 2: Life Cycle Inventory Analysis
(LCI)
• The LCI is the data collection phase of a Life Cycle
Assessment. We collect the data and model it into input-output
flows.
• The Life Cycle Inventory Analysis (LCI) looks at the
environmental inputs and outputs of a product or service.
• It is essentially the data collection phase of our LCA.
• The goal is to quantify the environmental inputs and outputs –
this means we measure everything that flows in and out of the
system we defined in phase 1.
What could these inputs and outputs be?

• – Raw materials or resources

• – Different types of energy
• – Water
• – Emissions to air, land or water by substance
• Life Cycle Inventory is typically illustrated with a
flow model to avoid confusion.
Phase 3: Life Cycle Impact Assessment

• Evaluate significance of the impacts

• There are 3 key tasks in this step.
Task 1: Selection of indicators and
models
• In phase 1 of our LCA, we defined our Impact
Categories based on our goals.
• Impact Categories are what you want to measure your
impact in. For example, you might want to measure the
impact of your products on climate change in CO2-
equivalent.
• Now, we have to define these impact categories more
precisely.
Most commonly used impact categories

• Human toxicity
• Global Warming Potential
• Ecotoxicity
• Acidification
• Eutrophication
• Some impact categories are measured in equivalents, for
example CO2-e for CO2-equivalent.
• This is because several emissions contribute to the same
impact category.
• For example, climate change or global warming potential
(GWP) is measured in CO2-equivalents. This doesn‟t
mean that only CO2 is contributing to global warming,
also methane and nitrous oxide play a role there.
• By assigning an equivalent, we can compare all these
inputs to each other
Task 2: Classification

• In this step, Life Cycle Impact Assessment, we are

sorting our Life Cycle Inventory and assigning it to
our defined impact categories.
Task 3: Impact Measurement

• In the last step of our impact assessment, we are

finally calculating all our equivalents. We are
summing them up in overall impact category totals.
Phase 4: Interpretation of our Life Cycle
Assessment
• We can always interpret our results during the assessment.
• This means that the interpretation doesn‟t necessarily have to
happen at the very end.
• But with all the data in place, we can make the most reliable
conclusions and recommendations.
• What we want to interpret is also defined in the ISO norms
defining the Life Cycle Assessment.
• Interpretation of a Life Cycle Assessment should
include:
▫ Identifying significant issues based on our LCI and
LCIA phase
▫ Evaluating the study itself, how complete it is, if it‟s
done sensitively and consistently
▫ Conclusions, limitations, and recommendations
• It means that we have to make sure we collected
accurate data and took care of measuring and
analyzing it correctly. Only then we can make
recommendations – otherwise, we would literally be
“jumping to conclusions”!
We can draw conclusions from it, such as

• How high are the emissions of the product or service?

• How does it compare to other products in our
portfolio?
• What are the biggest leverages to reduce the impact
of our product?
• Can we be more efficient in manufacturing it?
Circular economy

• A circular economy is an economic system aimed at

eliminating waste and the continual use of resources.
• Circular systems employ reuse, sharing, repair,
refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling to
create a closed-loop system, minimising the use
of resource inputs and the creation of waste, pollution
and carbon emissions
• All "waste" should become "food" for another
process: either a by-product or recovered resource for
another industrial process or as regenerative
resources for nature (e.g., compost).
• This regenerative approach is in contrast to the
traditional linear economy, which has a "take, make,
dispose" model of production.
• In practice, it implies reducing waste to a minimum.
When a product reaches the end of its life, its
materials are kept within the economy wherever
possible. These can be productively used again and
again, thereby creating further value.
Why do we need to switch to a circular
economy?
• The world's population is growing and with it the demand
for raw materials. However, the supply of crucial raw
materials is limited.
• In addition extracting and using raw materials has a major
impact on the environment.
• It also increases energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
However, a smarter use of raw materials can lower CO2
emissions.
Benefits
• Measures such as waste prevention, ecodesign and re-use
could save money and also reduces total annual greenhouse
gas emissions
• Reduces pressure on the environment, improves the security
of the supply of raw materials, increase competitiveness,
stimulates innovation, boosts economic growth, creates jobs
• Consumers will also be provided with more durable and
innovative products that will increase the quality of life and
save them money in the long term.
Biomimicry

• Biomimicry is the imitation of the models, systems,

and elements of nature for the purpose of solving
complex human problems.
• Viewing nature as role model/teacher– nature has
already solved many of the technological and
sustainability problems that we face today - learning
from nature, not about nature
• Humans have looked at nature for answers to
problems throughout our existence.
• Living organisms have evolved well-adapted
structures and materials over geological time
through natural selection.
• Biomimicry has given rise to new technologies
inspired by biological solutions at macro and
nanoscales.
• Animals, plants, and microorganisms are experienced
engineers.
• They know what works, what‟s appropriate, and
most importantly, what lasts on Earth.
• The main belief of the biomimicry approach is that
after 3,8 billion years of research and development,
what did not work is now a fossil and what is around
us is the secret to survival.
• Climbing pads capable of supporting human weight are a mimic of
the biomechanics of gecko feet.
• The aerodynamics of the famous Japanese Bullet train was inspired
by the shape of a bird‟s beak.
• The first flying machine heavier than the air from the Wright
brothers, in 1903, was inspired by flying pigeons.
• Architecture is inspired by termite mounds to design passive cooling
structures.
• Velcro is born from the observation of the hooks implemented by
some plants for the propagation of their seeds via animal‟s coat.
• The study of shark skin is at the origin of particularly effective
swimming suits, as well as a varnish for planes fuselage
Environmental Impact Assessment

• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is the

assessment of the environmental
consequences (positive and negative) of a plan,
policy, program, or actual projects before the decision
to move forward with the proposed action.
• The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that
decision makers consider the environmental impacts
when deciding whether or not to proceed with a
project.
Why EIA?

• EIA is intended to prevent or minimize potentially

adverse environmental impacts and enhance the
overall quality of a project.
Goals of EIA

• Resource conservation
• Waste minimization
• Recovery of by-product
• Efficient use of equipments
• Sustainable development
Phases of EIA
• Screening
• Scoping
• Data collection
• Impact analysis
• Assessment of alternatives
• Public hearing
• Environment Management Plan
• Decision making
• Monitoring the clearance conditions
• Screening
▫ Screening is done to see whether a project requires
environmental clearance
• Scoping
▫ Scoping identifies the key issues and impacts that
should be further investigated
• Data collection
▫ It describes the existing environmental status of the
selected project.
• Impact analysis
▫ Identifies and predicts the environmental and social
impact of the proposed project and evaluate its
significance
• Assessment of alternatives
▫ Possible alternatives are identified and ranked for
selection
• Public hearing
▫ Public must be informed and consulted
• Environment Management Plan
▫ Reporting of EIA results to appropriate bodies and
interested parties

• Decision making
▫ Decides whether the project is rejected, approved or
needs further change

• Monitoring the clearance conditions

▫ Monitor the decisions made in EIA reports
Benefits

• For project sponsors

▫ Reduced cost and time of project implementation
▫ Cost saving modifications in project design
▫ Increased project acceptance
▫ Compliance with regulations and laws
▫ Improved project performance
▫ Reduction in clean up costs
• For local communities
▫ Healthy local environment
▫ Improved human health
▫ Maintenance of biodiversity
▫ Sustainable utilization of resources
▫ Fewer conflict over natural resource use
Limitations

• EIA should be taken at the policy and planning level rather

than at the project level
• Range of possible alternatives in EIA is small
• Complicated process and requires financial resources
• EIA reports are too lengthy, contains too many tables and
figures
• EIA ends immediately after project clearance, no follow up
action is taken
Industrial Ecology

• Industrial Ecology is the study of industrial systems

aimed at identifying and implementing strategies that
reduce their environmental impact.
• Industrial ecology was developed as a way to better
understand the impact industry has on the environment.
• It is a multidisciplinary field that combines aspects of
economics, engineering, sociology, technology and
environmental science.
Industrial ecology

• Industrial ecology conceptualises industry as a man-

made ecosystem that operates in a similar way to
natural ecosystems, where the waste or by product of
one process is used as an input into another process.
• Industrial ecology interacts with natural ecosystems
and attempts to move from a linear to cyclical or
closed loop system.
• Industrial processes, from material extraction through
to product disposal, have an adverse impact upon the
environment.
• Industrial ecology aims to reduce environmental
stress caused by industry while encouraging
innovation, resource efficiency and sustained growth.
• Industrial ecology acknowledges that industry will
continue operate and expand however, it supports
industry that is environmentally conscious and has
less burden upon the planet.
• It views industrial sites as part of a wider ecology
rather than an external, solitary entity.
Industrial symbiosis

• The word “symbiosis” is usually associated with

relationships in nature, where two or more species
exchange materials, energy, or information in a mutually
beneficial manner.
• Industrial symbiosis is a form of brokering to bring
companies together in innovative collaborations, finding
ways to use the waste from one as raw materials for
another.
• Industrial symbiosis is a subset of industrial
ecology.
• It describes how a network of diverse organizations
can encourage eco-innovation and long-term culture
change, create and share mutually profitable
transactions and improve business and technical
processes.
• The principle behind industrial symbiosis is quite
simple; instead of being thrown away or destroyed,
surplus resources generated by an industrial process
are captured then redirected for use as a „new‟ input
into another process by one or more other companies,
providing a mutual benefit or symbiosis
• Examples of industrial symbiosis are wide ranging and
include the use of waste heat from one industry to
warm greenhouses for food production, the recovery
of car tyre shavings for use in construction
materials, and the use of sludge from fish farms as
agricultural fertiliser.
Benefits

• Reduce raw material and waste disposal costs

• Generate new revenue from residues and by-products
• Divert waste from landfill and reduce carbon
emissions
• Open up new business opportunities
• Strengthen environmental profiles