Environmental management systems
Internal communication regarding environmental issues is a necessary part of reducing the environmental impacts of your organisation. Also, as shown above, it can be a regulatory requirement. Certain kinds of communication are required, for example for an EMS certified to ISO14001:2004.
Environmental management systems – ISO14001:2004
Clause 4.4.3 of ISO14001:2004 specifies that an organisation must have procedures for internal communication at all levels regarding its environmental aspects and the EMS itself. The same clause also requires the organisation to have procedures for:
‘receiving, documenting and responding to relevant communication from external interested parties’.
Effective internal communication
Keeping people informed is an important motivational factor in the environmental field as elsewhere. Effective communication is essential to involve relevant personnel in the development of an environmental management system.
Effective communication is a two-way process. Feedback on problems, alternative solutions or ideas for further improvement should be encouraged. It may be appropriate to give your employees a formal route for feedback.
For example, any information or training session should include the provision of a feedback/suggestions form which can be filled in anonymously according to employee preference.
Involve employees in your decision making. Where you think it appropriate, consult employees on the best options to take towards continuous improvement (see environmental management systems Environmental management systems).
Information communicated should be:
- understandable;
- interesting;
- informative;
- eye-catching;
- adequately explained (enough, but not too much detail); and
- accurate and consistent (e.g. familiar language or measurement units).
Methods include:
- meetings (plan your agenda and keep to the point);
- briefing sessions (as above);
- staff notices (must be kept up to date);
- memos (brief and to the point;
- booklets (your own or bought in);
- reports (or report summaries);
- electronic mail messages;
- internal magazines or newssheets; and
- posters (replaced or refreshed regularly).
Where access to PCs is available, dissemination of environmental information will be most effective via electronic media. In many workplaces, you will also need to communicate via non-electronic means.
The choice of method and its format will vary depending on the message (e.g. whether general or specific) and its audience (e.g. general office staff, shop floor, senior management, technical staff).
Time should be allocated carefully for these activities. For example, briefings to shift workers may need to be delivered outside normal ‘office hours’. Your audience are unlikely to be receptive to an environmental message in a briefing scheduled for the afternoon, following a shift which began eight hours earlier.
In-company newsletters (electronic where possible, to save paper) can be an effective method for imparting environmental information. There are many environmental topics to choose from. Some environmental issues need regular repetition (e.g. reminders about segregated waste collection).
It may be useful to intersperse articles which are specific to your organisation’s environmental impacts with general interest issues regarding your company or its sites, for example, on any plants or animals which can be seen around your site. These can be topical reminders, such as to look out for plants which are due to flower or to watch out for nesting birds. Other more general topics regarding global environmental issues and how they can connect to your employees’ lives may be considered.
A balance between informal and formal communication methods should be adopted. Informal communication will encourage open dialogue, generate a good working atmosphere and avoid unnecessary bureaucracy. Formal communication is necessary to help ensure consistency (so that key individuals are not inadvertently forgotten and so that, as far as possible, everyone gets the same information). Bearing in mind that is necessary to keep a record of your communication, formal communication channels such as these help to ensure that a record is kept.
In particular, the following should be covered by formal internal communication procedures:
- changes to your environmental management system;
- progress reports on environmental performance; and
- external developments (e.g. government policy, stakeholder developments, findings of relevant scientific research, best practice techniques and technologies).