As humans, we leave more than just our footprints on Earth when we go. We produce plenty of waste – some of them recycled, some have their energy reused in other forms, while another large portion is unattended to, impacting our environment negatively.
The Environmental Management System (EMS) tackles this issue for organisations all around the world.
What is an EMS?
When your company has an EMS, you have a regulation to control and reduce your environmental impact while also increasing your overall operating efficiency.
You can expect a consistent review or auditing cycle to evaluate your environmental performance along with improvements upon which you can take action.
EMS Benefits
Your organisation will benefit significantly from adopting an EMS, some of which will be discussed below. These benefits could be for your organisation or extend to help your industry or the nation in the long run.
Reduce Carbon Footprint
How much carbon dioxide emission is involved in your products’ entire lifecycle? These emitted gases can lead to global warming. An EMS consultant can advise you on ways you can manufacture, transport and dispose of your goods in an environmentally-friendly manner.
Reduce Waste
A small organisation can benefit from a recycling program, while a larger one can utilise recycled products as part of their design innovation.
The results? Waste reduction and higher reusing rates! If you switch your products’ materials from plastic to a recyclable option, you are also reducing your company’s waste.
Maximise Resources
As you continue to recycle and reuse your materials and products, the benefits of environment management become more obvious.
You can order less materials and have them delivered in less time, then recycle any unused parts to create new products. Soon, you might even find that it gets easier to innovate products as you create more and more new items.
Save money
Policies such as a Hazardous Material Management Policy can aid your organisation in cheaper handling and storage of hazardous materials and products while educating the public about safer and greener options.
Needless to say, processing recyclable materials for reuse could be a lot cheaper than purchasing new raw materials.
Improve Sustainability
When you address sustainability issues and environmental management plan within your EMS, you rely on natural resources less.
You might start manufacturing your products from scrap metal or wood chips rather than plastic, and digitalise transactions & documents so that no printing is required. These materials could maintain a low cost while the market continues to increase its prices!
Public Image
The number of organisations taking EMS seriously is few and far between, so every little effort could get your organisation an excellent public image through press releases, recognitions, awards and many other ways.
This in turn can help your business prosper as investors take an interest in you, increasing your stock prices and brand recognition.
ISO 14001 Certification
ISO 14001 is an international standard specifying EMS requirements, and over 300,000 organisation from 171 countries have been certified with this standard. An EMS that abides by this certification would include five components – Creating or updating the environmental policy, plan, do, check and act.
This certification provides a framework for EMS creation, maturation and constant improvement once adopted by an organisation.
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