ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

In planning or when making business decisions environmental considerations must be integrated with financial, technical and marketing considerations to ensure that business activities are managed on a sound commercial but environmentally sustainable basis.

Effective environmental protection has to be strategically planned. Duard Barnard and Associates plan environmental management systems and structures that translate environmental legal requirements into cost effective and practical management action, which enables an organisation to manage their activities in line with legal, society and customer requirements.

The management tool that is most commonly used for this purpose is an Environmental Management System (EMS), which describes appropriate guidelines for strategic and day-to-day management. Once strategic environmental objectives have been set their implementation has to be managed to ensure that the set objectives are achieved.

A well-functioning EMS enables an organisation to verify the adequacy of their management system and apply the principles of continuous improvement.

The international standards most frequently used for an EMS are the ISO 14 000 range of environmental standards. Accreditation by an appropriately qualified agency to ISO or any other recognised standard is an international guarantee of environmental credibility. It serves as confirmation that the accredited business has the ability to meet its stated environmental policy and aims and that the organisation is managing its activities in line with legal, society and customer requirements.

The establishment of an EMS may entail the adaptation of an existing environmental management system and its integration into the general management system of the organisation or the design of a new system.

It is often advisable to implement a relatively inexpensive EMS based on ISO 14001 principles to meet the immediate needs of clients. Should the need for full accreditation arise, a preliminary EMS lends itself to easy upgrading to the ISO 14001 standard. As an optional service the firm can assist in the preparation of an environmental legal register as required by ISO.

Duard Barnard was a member of the working group that prepared the South African ISO 14001 standard and serves as an environmental law auditor for the internationally recognised Raad voor Akkreditatie in the Netherlands.