Reasons for adopting an EMS
The potential benefits associated with an effective EMS include:
- Licence to operate:
- facilitate obtaining authorisations, consents and permits;
- maintain/ enhance community relations;
- improve business – regulator relations; and
- reduce the likelihood of circumstances which could result in enforcement action
- Market size and share:
- assure customers of commitment to responsible environment practices;
- identify customer concerns and opportunities for developing and sharing environmental solutions;
- meet or exceed vendor certification criteria;
- develop products and services with improved environmental performance;
- retain and/ or improve market share; and
- create new product/ new market opportunities.
- Cost control:
- improve process and operational efficiency;
- ongoing annual savings in materials, energy and waste costs; and
- avoidance of liability costs through criminal proceedings and civil actions.
- Access to financial services:
- satisfy investor criteria;
- continued/ improved access to capital;
- obtain insurance at relatively reasonable cost.
- Public image:
- enhance public image;
- ensure good public/local community relations; and
- demonstrate responsible care.
Effective environmental management should be about maximising environmental and business benefits – and, therefore, about turning threats associated with environmental developments into business opportunities.
For example:
Effective environmental management turns threats into opportunities
|
THREAT |
OPPORTUNITY |
|
Problems complying with environmental legislation. |
Understand time which will be consumed in compliance issues and plan ahead.
Avoidance of fines. |
|
Risk of civil actions. |
Avoidance of civil claims (usually costly). |
|
Difficulties relating to consumer pressures. |
Good customer relations/improved market standing. |
|
Sources of finance (and insurance) asking difficult questions. |
Easier access to finance (and insurance). |
|
Poor public image. |
Enhanced public image. |
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Higher costs from inefficient resource use. |
Savings in raw material, energy and waste costs. |
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Competitors are realising environmental benefits. |
Demonstrated performance is continually better than the competition. |
Note: The cost of regulatory activity is more than possible fines and legal costs, it is also the cost of business disruption through regulatory visits, and the loss of management and staff time dealing with the action. If it results in operational shut down, this could adversely affect customer service capability, leading to loss of orders and loss of customer confidence and future business.
There is a strategic, as well as operational, element to the functioning of the EMS: it is important that forthcoming legal requirements are anticipated and monitored. Senior management has a key role in committing resources to ensure that strategic issues are considered.
An effective, well implemented and accredited environmental management system will assist in this process by ensuring a comprehensive and planned approach to control and improvements. An EMS, especially if an accredited third party certifies it, gives credibility to the organisation’s efforts to be ‘environmentally friendly’.