What is an EMS?
An environmental management system (EMS) integrates environmental considerations into day-to-day decision making and other practices through the systematic assembly of organizational elements, business processes, and technology tools, and does so in a way that promotes their use by all employees in sustaining the continuous improvement of the organization's environmental performance.
In 1996, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published "ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems—Specifications with Guidance for Use." ISO 14001 is the most commonly used framework for developing and implementing an EMS. CDM has helped clients implement EMSs that are both ISO 14001 certified and in compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) National Enforcement Investigation Center compliance-focused EMS framework.
What are the benefits of an EMS?
We've seen organizational strengthening as the most important outcome of implementing an EMS. Whether an entity's goal is to improve regulatory compliance or better manage risks, we work with the organization to instill environmental awareness and communication across all its levels and functions.
An EMS improves operations and can save money by working toward meaningful performance measures and targets. Engaging senior management in the regular review of progress and an objective assessment of the management system's effectiveness sustains the continuous improvement cycle.
Who should consider implementing an EMS?
For many entities, implementing an EMS has become a business imperative. Remaining competitive in increasingly difficult financial times requires that entities develop organizational capabilities that allow for better risk management and compliance assurance. We work with our clients to implement EMSs that will equip their people to effectively use the organizational, process, and technology tools needed to improve environmental performance.
For public works departments, developing and sustaining a world-class utility means maximizing resource efficiency and customer satisfaction to fend off privatization attempts. For many airports and transit authorities, competition now requires innovation to attract the best tenants, suppliers, and customers. For some organizations, developing an EMS can serve as the catalyst for change that produces new ways of thinking about and evaluating environmental performance. Through EMS development and implementation activities, we help an entity learn about environmental performance and improve business operations.
Are there regulatory benefits to an EMS?
Yes. Many states offer incentives to entities that develop EMSs under EPA's National Environmental Performance Track program.
What recent EMS projects do you consider noteworthy?
CDM has provided management system consulting services to clients for decades. More recently, since the promulgation of ISO 14001 in 1996, CDM has assisted a variety of clients, including Lucent Technologies, Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd., the Waltham (Massachusetts) public school system, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority in New Jersey. We have also developed and delivered training for Narragansett Bay Commission in Rhode Island and for the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Tom Pedersen, based in CDM's Cambridge office, has 29 years of environmental consulting experience, with expertise in environmental health, safety, and quality management system design, development, and implementation.