Why Develop an EMS?

1. Why Develop an EMS? EPA Regions 9 & 10 and The Federal Network for Sustainability 2005

2. Plan Do Check Act Continual Improvement Environmental Policy Management Review Checking & Corrective Action Planning Implementation & Control

3. Connecting the Environment and the People • An EMS helps each member of the organization understand their role in the environment, and to see how what they do at the facility affects the environment • It provides for responsibility, ownership, and accountability of actions and related impacts, • Results? People that are more aware, better trained, more motivated, and more enthusiastic.

4. Environmental Issues Facing Government • Impacts from site operations • Policy implications • Compliance concerns • Budgetary pressures (enhanced efficiency) • Public perception

5. What are some of the drivers for government to adopt EMS principles? The need to improve environmental performance because of: • Obligation of environmental stewardship, • Public expectations, • The “business side” of government, • Regulatory compliance issues, • Executive orders.

6. Some Specific Drivers • Executive order 13148 requires that EMS be implemented at appropriate facilities by end 2005. • EO 13148 was continued from prior administration- EMS is here to stay. • Management systems approach is consistent with the President’s agenda, and his commitment to sound management of government and environmental stewardship. • OMB, in circular A-11 requires line item planning for EMS implementation. • Other environmental EOs, Executive Memoranda and agency policies can be supported by EMS.

7. What are some of the roadblocks for government to adopt EMS principles? • Changing priorities over time, • Political and other non-organizational pressures, • Frequent changes in leadership and their goals, • Budgets and allocations are not typical of private sector, • Finding relevant metrics (administrative vs. Environmental condition or cost), • Finding the best element to motivate employees, • Lack of familiarity, • Concern over “Flavor of the Month”.

8. Benefits of an EMS • Facilitates meeting your mission , • Improves the environmental condition, • Minimizes accidents and problems, or lessens impact and response time if they do occur, • Reduces redundant paperwork, • More efficient use of resources, • Facilitates compliance with requirements, • Responds to public scrutiny trends.

9. Measurement as a Management Tool • We need to know what conditions are to make management decisions. • An EMS directs and facilitates relevant measurements. • Measurements include environmental conditions, status of programs, compliance, and the EMS itself.

10. Examples of Metrics to Measure Benefits • Improves the environmental condition (environmental indicators), • Facilitates meeting your mission (how often environmental issues interfere with your mission), • Minimizes accidents and problems (incidents, losses), • Reduces redundant paperwork (time spent per task), • More efficient use of resources (investment per unit activity), • Facilitates compliance with requirements (number of non-compliances, penalty costs, missed EO deadlines), • Responds to public scrutiny trends (complaints, communications).

11. Managing Aspects vs. Impacts • It is more prudent and more efficient to manage “how” you interact with the environment than to manage “what” you have done to the environment. • An EMS is built around identifying, prioritizing, controlling, and improving upon, those elements of the organization that interact with the environment.

12. Fixing the Root Causes • An EMS is designed to identify the root causes of non-conformances and initiate corrective and preventive action. • This helps minimize the “bandage” syndrome, where the fixes are simply superficial.

13. EMS and Compliance There is “compliance management system” embedded within the broader “environmental management system” • First- the theme of compliance is seen throughout the plan-do-check-act elements, • Second, there are specific compliance-related requirements in an EMS (such as periodic compliance audits) that help address compliance issues before they occur.

14. Operational Benefits • Better awareness of impacts, allowing the workforce to make more informed decisions, • Increased suggestions and initiatives, • Additional opportunities to recognize and reward performance, • More consistency in operations, • Faster response and more effective corrective action when problems occur, • Delegates responsibility to more people, and where better addressed.