International Environmental Management Systems

Environmental Management and EMS

By Phil Barnes 08/97

The term environmental management is defined by the United Nations Environmental Programme, as "the control of all human activities which have a significant impact on the environment." The environment, as defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), is the "surroundings in which an organization operates, includes air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna, humans, and their interrelation." From these two definitions, I conclude that, "it is the responsibility of the organization’s managers to plan the organization’s activities, products, and services in a manner that reduces the organization’s detrimental impact on the environment, increases the organization’s benefits to the environment, while at the same time increasing the organization’s ability to achieve profit maximization."

However, the problem with the current practice of environmental management in most organizations is that managers focus only on achieving regulatory compliance, using a regulatory management system (RMS), instead of developing a method of going beyond compliance and integrating environmental responsibilities into business planning using an environmental management system (EMS).

Managers must view their organizations as a system, with departments/personnel working to achieve total quality environmental management through integrating business thinking with environmental planning. Management systems’, including financial and environmental performance, are the main ingredients in developing successful business strategy, and optimizes the organization efficiency through management systems integration. An EMS uses information from other management systems within the organization to increase operational efficiency and control environmental impact. Environmental management system standards are becoming essential in competing in the global market.